Coney Island condo plan beached
BY RACHEL MONAHAN and JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Monday, June 18th 2007, 4:00 AM
You can forget about oceanfront views from high-rise balconies and takeout from
Nathan's Famous.
Mega-developer Thor Equities, which has reportedly laid out more than $100
million so
far to rejuvenate Coney Island, has given up on plans for a highly profitable
residential
component to its Las Vegas-style amusement park project.
"Thor has believed from the beginning that the amusement and entertainment
aspect of
the project was the most important aspect of the project," Thor spokesman Lee
Silberstein
said, noting more amusements would be included in a revised version of the
22-acre plan.
The controversial $2 billion project - which had come under fire from city
officials and
residents, because, they said, it would destroy Coney Island's character by
including
waterfront housing - had originally earmarked 950,000 square feet for
residential space.
Now, the plan will have no residential component and no 50-story tower on
Stillwell Ave.,
as had been proposed, Silberstein said.
"It's significantly smaller," Silberstein said of the overall project. He
refused to divulge
specifics of a revised plan or to say how Thor would profit without the sale of
luxury
condos.
Carol Hill Albert, who in November sold the legendary Astroland amusement park
to Thor,
sighed in relief when told about the project's hairpin turn.
"Nobody has ever thought it was a good idea to have condos south of Surf Ave.,"
said
Albert, who hopes to relocate her 45-year-old family-owned amusement park
elsewhere
along the Coney Island waterfront. "It's all beachfront."
Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun agreed.
"This is the big break we've all been waiting for," said Zigun, the unofficial
mayor of Coney
Island. "We're not against development. Thor just needed to accept the fact
that at the core
area, it should be tourism and entertainment."
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