Coney Island Community Board Votes Against Casino

Community Board 13 delivered another setback to Joseph Sitt’s Coney Island casino plan last week, without signaling a death knell for the project.

The Brooklyn community board voted against changing land use rules for Thor Equities’ “The Coney,” Brooklyn Paper reported. The vote opposes the developer closing part of Bowery Street and acquiring air rights for the project.

The good news for Sitt is that the vote is strictly advisory. The bad news is that the state is going to weigh community support in its selection of which developers are awarded the gaming licenses. The developer also said casino buildings would need to be shrunken and proposed sky bridges eliminated if Thor doesn’t succeed in the ULURP process of rezoning.

“As the outright owners of the fully developable lots, The Coney remains the bid most poised to put shovels in the ground on day one to kickstart what will be an economic revival for Coney Island and Southern Brooklyn,” a representative of the casino bid stated.

The Brooklyn borough president, City Planning Commission and City Council still have to deliberate on the ULURP process.

In May, Thor, Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends detailed the $3 billion complex proposed for Coney Island, featuring a 500-key hotel, 2,500-seat concert venue, 70,000 square feet of retail and 90,000 square feet of event and meeting space.

The 1.4-million-square-foot development would rise on Thor-owned land from Stillwell Avenue to West 12th Street and from Surf Avenue to Wonder Wheel Way.

Sitt isn’t the only developer fighting for a casino while facing opposition from local communities. This month, Manhattan Community Board 4 unanimously rejected a casino and entertainment complex proposal from Wynn for Hudson Yards, Gothamist reported. That was also an advisory vote, not a binding ruling.

Applications for casino bids are due to the state in June. A decision about the three downstate gaming licenses could be made by the end of the year.

— Holden Walter-Warner