Coney Island Pedestrian Plaza Plan Revived!

For whatever reason, officials are hellbent on bringing a Times Square-style pedestrian plaza to Coney Island. The New York Post is reporting that officials from the city’s Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are reviving plans for a pedestrian plaza which they will present to Community Board 13, hoping that a compromise can be struck.

Previously, we reported that plans to place a pedestrian plaza on the southern end of Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island died because the spending was deemed frivolous in the wake of the Superstorm Sandy disaster. The placement of the first proposed plaza also took away parking spots and limited access points for emergency vehicles to enter the boardwalk.

The new plan accounts for the previous complaints and would place the plaza on the southern end of West 12th Street. The Post described the exact positioning of the new planned public space:

The plaza would replace part of the street on the end of West 12th Street – which abuts Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park to the east and Nathan’s boardwalk shop to the west. It would run about a third of the block north from a boardwalk entrance.

Johanna Zakki, director of operations for the Alliance for Coney Island believes that this new plan will be a boon for the area.

“We believe the plaza will improve pedestrian safety while providing a much-needed place for people to sit and relax, find some shade, watch a performance, or just take in the one-of-a-kind scene of Coney Island on a warm, sunny day,” Zakki told the Post.