Disney in Coney Island???

[sgtslovak]

The news radio station in NYC this evening reported that Crain's Business Weekly is running a story that Disney is looking at property in Brooklyn's famous Coney Island. The radio station said much of the property is owned by one man. This individual stated that he did have discussions with Disney in 1998 but not since then. Anybody hear antything more on this?

 

[Banzai]

That would rock! I would love to have Disney a state away!

 

[SPAGo 98]

i highly highly highly doubt that. coney island is not a good place. it's unsafe, it's crowded, it's residential, etc.

 

[sgtslovak]

SHORE SOUNDS GREAT: DISNEY EYES CONEY IS.

By DAN MANGAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The elephant in Astroland Park may soon have a neighborly friend in Dumbo if Disney's scouting trip pans out.
- Stephen Hirsch

July 22, 2002 -- Coney Island was named after a rabbit - but it may be taken over by a mouse.
Walt Disney Co. has been studying Coney Island land parcels to determine if enough acreage could be assembled for some kind of major project in the famed south Brooklyn seaside neighborhood, according to Crain's New York Business today.

The entertainment-industry behemoth is renowned both for its megasized theme parks and its role in the wildly successful renewal of Times Square, which has drawn hordes of tourists from around the world.

Like Times Square, Coney Island's glory days as a favorite destination of New Yorkers were followed by a steady decline into seediness, crime and broken dreams.

By then, the urban decay resembled nothing of the dune-covered land the Dutch settlers dubbed Konijn Eiland, or rabbit island.

Disney's involvement in Coney Island "would be great. Disney did a beautiful job on 42nd Street. Coney Island could use a facelift. I know they would do a good job of cleaning up the area," said Gerald Menditto, 59, who has worked on the neighborhood's landmark Cyclone roller coaster for 28 years.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said, "I think Coney Island is hot as a pistol for a major development . . . It's open for great, great things."

He pointed to recent positive developments there, including last year's opening of KeySpan Park - home to the Brooklyn Cyclones minor-league baseball team - and expansion of the New York Aquarium as evidence that the neighborhood is headed in the right direction.

And Coney Island's honky-tonk amusement parks and food stands, coupled with a spacious boardwalk and beach, are drawing bigger crowds.

Markowitz said that Disney representatives looked at Coney Island several years ago.

"Maybe they put it back on the front burner," he said, while noting that he has not heard that Disney is looking again.

The company denies any current interest.

Big plans for revitalizing Coney Island are nothing new.

"Coney Island's day came in 1989, when we had full Board of Estimate approvals to build this major project," said Horace Bullard, the owner of seven acres of land along Surf Avenue, who planned a $450 million entertainment complex on his and city property.

But, "we ran into a bad financial market. And in '93, we came back with financing, but then we ran into [Rudy] Giuliani," said Bullard, who blames the former mayor for thwarting his vision.

Giuliani pushed for construction of KeySpan Park, which sits smack between Bullard's two land parcels, and which Bullard says would be difficult to incorporate into a Disney complex.

Still, Bullard predicted that "anything you do out there will be successful," and wants a crack at being part of any development.

"We have a new day. We have a new mayor who understands business," Bullard said. "Coney Island's day will come."

Additional reporting by Angelina Cappiello

 

[Luv2Roam]

Perfect place for DCA.
(Been there, done that)

 

[AnnaS]

Yes, I saw it on channel 5, 10 pm last night.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by SPAGo 98
i highly highly highly doubt that. coney island is not a good place. it's unsafe, it's crowded, it's residential, etc.

I highly doubt it too but Coney Island would be a great place.

I don't know how knowledgeable you are about Coney Island but from what I know, it improved greatly in recent years. The police have done a great job in getting rid of the gangs. It used to (and still may be - I'm not too sure) a big hangout for the Bloods. Crime is way down.

Anytime I've been there it wasn't crowded. I don't know if you have ever seen pictures of "old" Coney Island. If you have, then you know what crowded really means.

 

[larworth]

Does sound like they seriously looked into this several years ago.

With a 1/3 of the U.S. population within a 300 mile radius, I’m sure they’ve spent many a meeting thinking about how to better tap into this geography (Disney America not withstanding). If the economy was booming, you’d just help revitalize Time Square, were the toast of Broadway, and had a CEO who had fond childhood memories of the place, I can see where this idea might have garnered some serious internal attention back then.

I don’t know what type of conversion they had planned, but I'm not sure it is something I'd want to see happen, expecially with the current mentality.

Hmmm…. What if a “special assignment” was created to oversee this new project (some guy named Paul). Attractions was assigned exclusively to relocating most of Paradise Pier, Mulholland madness, and Dino-Rama! to the new park, along with the building of a big new auditorium for the “Hey New York, Meet ABC Show”. WDI would be restaffed to begin work on replacements for the relocated attractions. A new..........I think I'm starting to like the idea.