City Takes Next Step Towards More Coney Island Housing

More housing could soon be on the way next to Coney Island’s famed boardwalk.

The mayor’s office released a request for proposals for a developer to build a 500-unit project on Surf Avenue between West 21st and 22nd Streets, Bisnow reported. The development would utilize 80,000 square feet of city-owned land and a quarter of the units would need to be designated for affordable housing. The project would also feature ground-floor retail.

The RFP kickstarts a process that will see a larger transformation of city-owned land next to the boardwalk. Mayor Eric Adams wants an additional 1,500 units built on the parcels. The other two-thirds of the units will be near Maimonides Park — where the Brooklyn Cyclones play — the boardwalk and the Abe Stark Sports Center.

The city is also investing $42 million to redevelop the sports center, looking for a design-build team to help with renovations of both the facility and the boardwalk.

“This is the kind of investment it takes to make sure housing is available and truly affordable to the people of and from our community, and that great jobs and shopping are accessible to the people who live and breathe that Coney Island sea breeze every single day,” New York City Council Member Justin Brannan said in a statement.

Coney Island has long been in the crosshairs of the Adams administration. During his latest State of the City speech, the mayor singled out the neighborhood as one where the city would target housing developments for municipal land.

In its release, the Adams administration added that it is working to enhance the shoreline to protect against rising sea levels and the impacts of climate change, using a $2.1 million FEMA grant to limit flooding and bolster infrastructure.

The beachfront neighborhood has seen a boom in affordable housing plans in recent years. In August, Proto Property Services filed a rezoning application to add a 17-story, 415-unit building on West 24th Street. Will Blodgett’s Tredway filed plans for a 180,000-square-foot building with 250 units on West 28th Street. And Donald Capoccia and Joseph Ferrara’s BFC Partners are working towards a 12-story, 430-unit affordable housing development on Surf Avenue, the final phase of a project sponsored by the city.

— Holden Walter-Warner