Hopes for Restoration of Coney Island

As early as the mid-1800s, beautiful hotels and bathhouses had sprung up on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in the Coney Island area, attracting many affluent New Yorkers. After the first roller coaster was introduced in 1884, Coney Island had become the amusement capital of the world by the turn of the twentieth century. In 1920, it only took visitors five cents to take one of three subway lines to its beach (gaining the title “Nickel Empire”), and the 84-foot boardwalk was built in 1926 to further accommodate outsiders and increase business. It was the perfect weekend getaway for New York’s working class, most of which resided in the terrible conditions of tenement housing.

The Coney Island parks started on a downhill trend following the Great Depression. In the next several decades, this area became an undesirable place to spend one’s time. “Fires occurred in the park, visitors were robbed, and gangs destroyed property.” Between 1960 and 1973, amusement areas were rezoned for housing projects and apartment buildings, which loomed over the remnants of Coney Island. Much of the federal funding that was supposed to finance more buildings disappeared, “leaving vacant lots of rubble from structures that had been torn down in anticipation.” Attempts to restore and preserve the area did not begin until the 1980s, and there are several initiatives in effect today to make Coney Island a safe and enjoyable destination for locals and visitors alike.

Background

Coney Island is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction on the peninsula at the southernmost tip of Brooklyn, New York, claiming a land area just over 3 square miles. As reported by the NYC Department of City Planning, Brooklyn community district 13 (encompassing Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Gravesend, Homecrest, Seagate and West Brighton) had a total population of 104,278 in 2010. The neighborhood tabulation area (NTA) of Seagate and Coney Island (BK21) accounts for roughly 30,000 residents in the whole population of CD 13.

Issue 1: Damaged Public Infrastructure

It is no surprise that Coney Island and other coastal neighborhoods on the New York and and New Jersey shores were hit hard by the forceful winds and destructive waters of Hurricane Sandy in late October of 2012. Now, almost three years later, the post-disaster cleanup has been adequate but not good enough to sustain the amenities of a well-functioning community. According to CD 13’s District Needs Statement for 2016, “high-rise structures, notably those of the City’s Housing Authority, still evince signs of the storm’s devastation – the smell of mold, the shattered and still non-usable community centers, abandoned homes, empty stores and civic facilities.” Corrective work such as painting and floor replacement must still be done to the community rooms of high-rise buildings, day care, senior centers, etc. The report continues on to state that emergency generators brought in after Sandy’s devastation are still in place at some buildings and schools. This situation is worsened by the fact that these generators are inoperable when temperatures fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit; and needless to say, winters have been difficult for most residents.

Director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, Daniel Zarilli, stated “Sandy demonstrated the vulnerabilities in the city’s healthcare system to coastal storms and extreme weather.” We need to protect healthcare services from natural disasters now more than ever. One way to do this is to increase funding of local governments to spend on much needed resources for homes and public centers. New generators and livable housing conditions are two of the most necessary elements this community needs, as well as additional health care centers for locals. This is already being done, with the new Ida G. Israel Community Health Center set to open in mid-September after its predecessor was destroyed just a couple blocks away after Hurricane Sandy. Councilman Mark Treyger said, “The loss of this center was one of the biggest issues I heard from the community.” More centers like this one will eventually begin to strengthen Coney Island as a healthy and well-kept community, with Hurricane Sandy fading as a distant memory of horrible times.

Issue 2: Pollution and Overcrowding

Although pollution is not a significant issue of Coney Island’s beach and streets, it is almost always apparent that people litter with no regard for the environment and other residents. There are many cigarette buds scattered on the boardwalk, and non-degradable plastic bags and paper plates meet waves as they crash onto the shore (as evidenced in the image below).

Coney Island beach shore

Because Coney Island is a popular destination for beach-goers during the sweltering summers, this crowding issue further increases the amount of garbage deposited. This in turn leads to traffic congestion and noise pollution. Public transportation systems of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are often slow, causing users to commute via car to avoid the long wait. Many homeowners are frustrated that visitors are taking their parking spaces and drivers often find themselves in bumper-to-bumper traffic with incessant honking. The District Needs Statement stated that even emergency vehicles find it difficult to escape the highway gridlock. This situation was further hindered when the damaged subway and freeways made it hard to enter the peninsula and Coney Island was cut off from the rest of Brooklyn in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy.

To solve the parking issues, I would propose converting the numerous vacant lots on Coney Island into parking garages or lots where drivers would pay a small fee to store their car for the day. While it may seem like a large endeavor at first, the neighborhood would definitely get a return on this investment from parking revenues, especially during the warmer seasons. Hopefully in the future, a trolley car system of some sort (modeled off of amusement parks) could come and take people from their cars directly to the boardwalk, with the parking charge covering the use of this service. To help move cars faster along the highway, I would suggest changing the traffic signal timing on Neptune, Mermaid and Surf Avenues. Noise complaints would be quickly eradicated if signs were posted stating those who honk will be fined $350 AND must be enforced by traffic police on patrol at the peaks of high traffic periods. With any land pollution solution, one can only hope that people will be more aware of their littering actions and the effect it could have on the local environment and biodiversity. I would recommend that Coney Island begin a monthly intensive cleanup program of the beaches, boardwalk, and streets, wherein employees and volunteers could help preserve the community, discarding of any garbage that may have accumulated since last month’s cleanup.

Intersection of Cropsey and Neptune Avenues on a Friday at rush hour.

Issue 3: Flooded Streets

There have been years of flooding complaints from residents of the Coney Island peninsula. This video below shows the extent of flooding outside of P.S. 188 in just an average rainstorm in June 2014.

Large puddle of rain water at the corner of Surf Avenue and W 19th Street. Similar pools of stagnant water can be found at almost any other intersection on Coney Island.

The Coney Island Creek was the “main source of inundation” into surrounding neighborhoods after Hurricane Sandy surged up the inlet. Coney Island Creek is a two-mile tidal estuary that is home to a wide variety of wildlife and activity. Several construction projects are being planned to fix up the area, but no visible work has started to prevent future flooding. One such plan to prevent future storm surges was to transform Coney Island Creek by building a dam and flood gated at the creek’s mouth. Charles Denson, Executive Director of the Coney Island History Project, thinks that the plan uses “outdated technology and definitely wouldn’t work on the creek,” a collective agreement among most fishermen in the area. Denson stated, “The main problem with the proposed dam is that it would turn Coney Island Creek into a toxic cesspool fed by storm sewers and would do little to prevent flooding.” For more information about Denson’s involvement in the creek’s past and future, click here.

Source: New York City Economic Development Corporation

I would recommend that local government officials conduct extensive research of the flooding patterns of Coney Island to learn how to best solve this disastrous issue. From there, they could make strategic decisions on how to prevent future flooding and would most likely discover that a dam is only a quick fix for a much larger problem. If I were a community leader, I would post ways in which residents can most effectively protect themselves from flood damage, that way it minimizes costs associated with rebuilding impaired buildings.

Issue 4: Toxic Sludge in Coney Island Creek

While speaking about the flood damage caused by the inundation of the Coney Island Creek, we should also discuss the reports of sludge being dumped into the body of water. This creek was Coney Island’s first attraction, originating in the 1820s when the first hotels and resorts were developed in the area, which was known for its hunting and fishing. During the twentieth century, the wetlands were filled and the creek fouled by industrial waste, garbage dumps, and sewage. At one time, the creek became known to locals as Stink Creek and Perfume Bay. Due to the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and a new awareness of the creek’s potential, Coney Island Creek has improved greatly with three beautiful parks now surrounding its wide entrance. In 2006, a major cleanup of the creek’s narrow headwaters removed mountains of toxic industrial sludge.

Boats, functioning and abandoned alike, are docked in the polluted waters of Coney Island Creek, which is some what of “boat graveyard.”

A communal dump lines the shore of the Coney Island Creek.

Litter accumulated after years of improper disposal on the shores of Coney Island Creek.

“The water here is currently home to a wide variety of marine life, including bunker, bass, flounder, and fluke who swim in from the ocean.” It has become increasingly more apparent that the creek will have a more important role in the development of the peninsula’s activities. But in recent years, there have been a new set of complaints from resident who say the toxin-filled water is flowing into Coney Island Creek through a combined sewer overflow pipe at W 33^rd Street and Bayview Avenue, adjacent to Kaiser Park beach. The water was described as thick and black with sludge, oil, and other contaminants, “mucking up a habitat in the midst of a revival.” The only feasible solution to getting rid of all the toxic sludge in the creek is to have the entire community join as a collective force to clean up the mess. In fact, International Coastal Cleanup Day is this Saturday September 19^th and they are having volunteers sign up to participate (as detailed in the poster shown right). While this is only the first step, it is monumental in starting a process of change, activism, and awareness for the safety and health of Coney Island Creek.

Sources:

MHC Seminar 3

Prof. David Gruber, Fall 2015

Prof. David Gruber, Fall 2015

Hopes for Restoration of Coney Island

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