John Catsimatidis: I’m “taming” Coney Island

John Catsimatidis is just getting started in Coney Island.

The billionaire Red Apple Group head is expanding his holdings in the neighborhood, the New York Times reported.

“We tamed Myrtle Avenue,” Catsimatidis told the Times. “Now we’re taming Coney Island.”

Dubbed Ocean Dreams, his rental complex has two 21-story towers that house 425 units at 3514 Surf Avenue. It’s slated to open next summer — and is the Catsimatidis’ fifth project in Brooklyn in less than a decade. He also owns land adjacent to Ocean Dreams, where “he is itching to build,” and another parcel a few blocks east, the report said. In all, Catsimatidis hopes to build five towers along the boardwalk on Surf Avenue.

The shift toward Coney Island follows previous projects in Fort Greene. In 2010, Catsimatidis complete the Andrea, a nine-story building. The 15-story Giovanni was built next to it five years later, and the Margo was finished in 2016. The fourth Fort Greene project, the Eagle, has 440 units and opened this year.

With Ocean Dreams, Catsimatidis told the Times that prices won’t be set until closer to the start of leasing in the spring. A two-bedroom might be priced at $4,000 to $5,000, “depending on the floor,” he said. [NYT] — Meenal Vamburkar