New Coney Plans: Play Up the Coaster, Downplay the High Rises

Here you go. These are some the just-released renderings of the New Look Coney Island that shopping center develop Thor Equities wants to build in Coney Island. This is neither the "glam rock" remake of last fall or this summer's "easy listening" thing. It's something in between the two, although it preserves elements of the summer version, including little parachute jump pavilions and a disturbing number of buildings that say "Coney Island" in case you visit and forget where you are. Thor is planning a new roller coaster that would run "in and out of the proposed buildings." The $1.5 billion project would also include "the first multi-story carousel ever built in the Northeast" and an indoor water park.

We especially like the breathless hyperbole about the New Coney:

Stillwell will become the future favorite stroll and promenade for Brooklyn’s families, a place of magic, romance and a continuous show of lights, sounds, water and colors punctuated with animated rides for all ages...Light and water shows – with virtual whales and mermaids dancing 150 feet in the air through a cascading waterfall -- will greet visitors at Surf Avenue and Stillwell Walk...Surf Avenue itself will be transformed will be transformed from a desolate street now used mainly as a parking lot to the area's main pedestrian thoroughfare, marked by larger than life iconic street furniture, such as a mermaid swimming in a martini glass and a tattooed elephant roaming the streets.

The release mentions turning Coney into a year-round destination and--in a very matter of fact way--mentions that the development would include "hotels, retail, a limited amount of residential housing and a variety of culinary options."

To us, that's the most interesting part, and today's Sun filled in some details before the release went out: The plan would include up to four highrises--two hotels, a time-share and a condo building of up to 40 stories. A rezoning would be needed for many of Thor's plans to become reality. No renderings of the four highrises are included in the latest batch.