A Different Take on Coney Redevelopment...by the Same Writer

Yesterday, we posted about and linked a very positive piece about Coney Island redevelopment and developer Joe Sitt that ran all over the country via AP. The article was very bullish on the Coney remake and cast the developer--who's taken a few bumps here and there in the NY press and blogs--in a very positive light. (If we were to critique it, we would say that the story offered Mr. Sitt's vision for Coney Island while barely mentioning any skepticism or questions about it.) A reader pointed us to another article written by the same reporter that ran a week earlier and interestingly casts the demise of the old Coney Island in a very mournful tone. The headline on the link we have is "Astroland Rides Into Darkness." Here's a sample from the other article:

Among the locals, there's little doubt that the character of old Coney Island — "a combination of the U.N., and the circus, and some spontaneous act," says Albert — will disappear with the old tenants. And there's no doubt that personal touches like those brought by the Alberts will leave with them. Each spring, Astroland opened on weekdays around the Jewish holidays for the local Hasidic community.

Before anyone arrived, the park's staff wrapped fabric around any overexposed mermaid figures in deference to the conservative guests. The park also hosted an annual day for the widows and children of dead police officers — an event recalled fondly by Coney Island native Louie Scarcella, who spent 28 years with the NYPD.

Scarcella remembers opening day at Astroland, when crowds flocked to the 275-foot tall Astrotower (it's still there). He's spent his entire life in the neighborhood, and worked as a boardwalk carny before becoming a cop. He'll be around for closing day at Astroland, too.

Scarcella knows the good times are supposed to return to Coney Island in a few years, but he wonders if it will ever be the same once Astroland is razed.

"Once that's all gone, Coney Island's heartbeat will no longer beat," he says. "Coney Island is going to be put to sleep."

Contrast that to this:

On a weekday morning, Sitt -- in a dark blue pinstriped suit, lighter blue shirt and striped tie -- appears incongruous with the local environment, strolling up Stillwell Avenue toward the beach. But it soon becomes clear that he's equally at home on the boardwalk as in the boardroom..."Every single time I come out here, I get another vision," he says. "Restaurants, theaters. Everything comes off another visit."...

"Everybody else is trying to create a Coney Island," Sitt says. "We are the real thing. You know? We're the real thing! Anything else is a knockoff of this."

Interesting.