DOT Wants To Build Pedestrian Plaza In Coney Island


by on Mar 19th, 2013

The Boardwalk Flyer Ride will surround the proposed plaza space Source: Facebook

The Department of Transportation (DOT) wants to install a plaza on the southern end of Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, according to a report by the New York Post.

The plaza would replace 15 metered parking spaces with tables, chairs and decorative potted plants and will cover a block from the boardwalk to Bowery Street. The Post goes on to describe what would surround the plaza:

The dead-end street is currently flanked by the Scream Zone amusement park, go-kart tracks, a beach bar and a 110-foot-high Boardwalk Flyer thrill ride.

Valerio Ferrari, president of Zamperla USA, which runs the adjacent amusements, said he supports the plaza “100 percent” because “losing a few parking spaces” isn’t as important as “beautifying” the boardwalk’s main gateway and “making it more family-friendly.”
The DOT’s plan, to be presented to Community Board 13 tomorrow, isn’t being welcomed by everybody.
Steven “Butch” Moran, the CB13 vice chairman, worries that the plaza will just create more traffic on Surf Avenue and make it more difficult for emergency vehicles to reach the boardwalk. Moran also expressed a fear that the elimination of affordable parking will hurt local businesses due to the already limited parking options in the area.
Local business owners expressed mixed feelings regarding the possibility of a pedestrian plaza.

Jimmy Kokotas, owner of the nearby boardwalk eatery Tom’s Coney Island, said he fears that eliminating the spaces could hurt business but likes that the plaza would offer boardwalk patrons direct access to amusements abutting both sides of Stillwell Avenue without making them cross the street.

“We also don’t want it to become a hangout,” he said. “You want people eating and sitting there 15 to 20 minutes and then giving others a chance.”

We were wondering what our readers think. Does a pedestrian plaza located at the end of Stillwell Avenue seem like a good idea, or will it be a colossal waste of perfectly good parking space? Let us know.

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  • vintagejames

    Sounds silly to me. I try to go there quite often, but if I can’t park I just leave and go somewhere else.

    • guest

      These spots are not exactly accessible during the summer months anyway. The sheer amount of foot traffic on this street already makes it a pedestrian plaza without it being a pedestrian plaza. The change wouldn’t really do much to the street.

  • QueenMayor

    All of this interest in pissing away tax money extorted form us, while the worst housing projects in the nation are across the street. More war on middle class drivers. Will the Queen Mayor and his mentally ill DOT Commissioner mandate spike strips on all roadways to “deter” private automobile from using the roads that our taxes pay for? Or will they just BAN cars and landmine the roadways sort of like in Escape From NY?

    Mental illness is running wild within the seat of City government. At least Nero could do something constructive as he burned his city.

    • Streets for People

      Actually, plazas have been shown to improve business. So actually, we’d be coming out ahead. Not sure where your hated of DOT policies is coming from. They’ve saved lives, have resulted in economic benefits (especially compared to their super cheap price tag), and have improved the livability of neighborhoods. All these things are good for the middle class. I think you have things confused.

  • BrooklynBus

    I would support a pedestrian plaza only under one condition. That is that not only that the parking spaces that are removed are replaced elsewhere by off-street parking, but that the number of spaces be doubled or tripled and remain free on Sundays and are affordable at other times.

    Of course that would never happen as the mayor just wants to make life miserable for anyone who chooses to drive in this city.

    The spaces that he seeks to remove are always taken and there is very high demand for them. Pedestrian plazas produce no revenue. Too offset the revenue loss, the mayor will just keep hiking meter rates every six months as he has been doing. In a few years it will cost a dollar to park for 10 minutes.

  • guest

    If you build it, the hipster shall come. Even though it already has. Which is exactly what mayor clownhead wants.

  • Streets for People

    Sounds great to me! Complaining about losing a few (car) parking spots is barking up the wrong tree and failing to understand how parking supply/demand actually works. Let’s do this!

    • guest

      People who choose to drive need a place to park. They have a right to expect to have a parking space. It’s coney island. You don’t need a pedestrian plaza there’s a fricken boardwalk for you to stroll lounge and relax on not even a block away.

      • Streets for People

        Folks may have a right to expect a parking space, but they certainly don’t have the right to get a parking space. This is a city, not some sprawling exurb.

        Anyway, the parking issue is a small distraction. We should build the plaza.

        • guest

          Correct. People drive in the city. No, we do not have money to build the plaza. There are more important issues in the community that require attention and funding. Again, we don’t need a plaza here since the boardwalk is right there. There is no logic in this move. It makes no sense whatsoever to put a plaza here simply because somebody hates automobiles. Love how the anti-auto crowd dismisses the removal of parking spaces as a distraction.

          • Streets for People

            Anti-auto? No, pro-human.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ralph.franco2 Ralph Franco

    The reason we don’t do anything new is because too many jerk offs are allowed to complain. I think a pedestrian plaza is a great idea. It makes coney more inviting. Go ahead DoT and DoIt. Don’t listen to the naysayers and the morons like the CB 13 dumbass Moran. He must be bored.

    • guest

      Does this make that much sense? What is the purpose of a pedestrian plaza here when the boardwalk is close by? You goto Coney Island to walk along the boardwalk. You don’t need to sit in the street simply because his highness has a gigantic grudge against automobiles. People have a right to drive and a right to expect a place to park. Taking away valuable parking spots for no reason in this case is honestly absurd and a waste of money. Again, there are many places for one to sit extremely close by.

  • subway stinker

    Despite all the noise made by the pro-plaza lobby and their bicycle allies, I have not yet seen any imrovement in the quality of life or reduction in auto traffic wherever Mayor B. has installed plazas or bike lanes. Broadway is a jumble of lanes, lines and cheap outdoor furniture, for example. When the Mayor goes, so goes the Commissioner of Bicycles I expect.

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