Coney Island Update: Fences, Highrises and a Designer

Thor Equities spokesperson Lee Silberstein apparently filled in a number of blanks when he spoke to Community Board 13 about developer Joe Sitt's plans for a massive Coney Island redevelopment. Five key points emerge from the Brooklyn Graphic coverage by Stephen Witt:

1) Thor is hiring a firm called Thinkwell Design and Production to assist with its plan for the development. Thinkwell designs, develops and manages theme parks, museums, sports franchises, casinos and hotels including Universal Studios in Japan and Florida. We have more about them in the post below.

2) Thinkwell's first job will be designing a fence that Thor is going to build around the Astroland property. It will be a nice fence, Mr. Silberstein told people at the meeting. Mr. Witt writes that it will have "an aesthetically pleasing look and create a buzz for the year-round entertainment plan."

3) The development will be, in Mr. Witt's words, "a New Orleans-style Bourbon Street area on both sides of Stillwell Avenue (excluding the Nathan’s site) down to the Bowery. The area would include a carousel, water park, restaurants and shops. There would be glass panels that open in summer and nice weather. The hotel would include 30,000-40,000 square feet of conference space and movie theaters.

4) Thor would like to build a "limited amount" of housing--"hundreds and not thousands"--of units on a new street they would call Front Street between the Bowery and the Boardwalk. Mr. Silberstein says housing is needed to make the project financial viable. He added that Thor does not intend to build any affordable housing as subsidized units would not help build the rest of the project.

5) Mr. Sitt wants to build highrises and some of them may be taller than the Parachute Jump. (This is not a surprise given that buildings as tall as 40 stories have been mentioned in the past; the Parachute Jump is only 21 stories tall.) “If people have an attitude that height was a problem, the Parachute Jump would have never been built,” he said, adding that any design would allow for view corridors of the Wonder Wheel, Cyclone and Parachute Jump.