What’s Happening: The Crisis at Hand
The Soul of Coney Island Is Being Quietly Reshaped.
A $3 billion casino proposal threatens to overtake Coney Island with luxury development, entertainment complexes, and large-scale infrastructure.
Decisions about Coney Island’s future are being made with limited transparency, often without the full participation of the community.
Coney Island Needs Year-Round Business
But Not Casinos.
Supporters of the casino say it will bring year-round foot traffic. But many believe this is a false solution that will further limit opportunity for local entrepreneurs, and turn Coney Island into another privatized “destination.”
Coney Island was built by a diverse community of creative visionaries—not investors. Not one controlling corporation. Its future should belong to those who still dream. Small Businesses and creative artists with a vision for creating the same kind of unique destination which created Coney Island’s legacy.
Casinos are not the solution to a sustainable year round economy.
Reviving Coney Island’s Small Business Soul and legacy is.
Our Vision:
We implore the Elected Officials and the City of New York to:
Support a broad mix of small businesses with unique, creative visions on City owned land. Not one dominant corporate entity
Create a local Business Association led by independent operators and small business owners which will help to attract more unique small businesses and support the small creative businesses currently in Coney Island.
Foster an authentic year-round economy in line with Coney Island’s legacy through the creation of small business incubator programs which help to bring more unique small businesses back to Coney Island, restoring it’s creative presence ,
Keep Coney Island the People’s Playground- affordable, inclusive, and weird—in the best way possible
Who Really Controls Coney? And Why?
Public Land, Private Power: What the City Must Address
This is public land. It should serve the public good.
Much of Coney Island’s amusement area is owned by the City and managed by the EDC. Most of this publicly owned land has been handed over to one private corporation to develop and manage.
Many feel that public land has become inaccessible to the very people it was meant to uplift—the local community, small business owners, and New Yorkers.
What It Really Means to Save Coney Island
Go Back to the Roots. Build Forward with Soul.
A Vision Rooted in History and Justice:
Reject the casino and future high-impact developments that concentrate power
Reinvest in independent businesses and diverse ownership models
Empower local community programming & small businesses
Create a sustainable year round economy on this public land through transparent and inclusive lease policies which allow more creative small businesses to open on this City owned land rather than letting it be monopolized by one corporation.
Coney Island was created by
Creative Visionaries
Let’s build a future that honors that truth.
Join Us
Subscribe to our email list
