New York City

The historic and mostly dormant Coney Island amusement park district in New York City will be revived by next summer with some new attractions, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and developer Joseph Sitt said Thursday. The city purchased 6.9 acres at the heart of Coney Island from Sitt's Thor Equities for $95.6 million after years of tense negotiations, the pair announced at a City Hall news conference. The city plans to create a year-round destination that includes a 12 1/2-acre outdoor amusement park within a 27-acre amusement and entertainment district. The project also includes new restaurants, movie theaters, retail and the city's first new roller coaster ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After years of blight, the future of New York's Coney Island historic amusement park brightened on Wednesday when city officials said they had a deal to spend about $96 million to buy seven acres to expand the park. New York City officials, who requested anonymity, said they will purchase three waterfront properties in South Brooklyn from developer Thor Equities LLC. That will add to the outdoor amusement park's current three acres. In July, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan to transform the seaside neighborhood with new shops and almost 5,000 new homes, creating 6,000 permanent jobs and boosting the impoverished ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Would "The Warriors" recognize the Coney Island of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's dreams? The street gang at the center of the 1979 cult movie fought police and rival gang "Armies of the Night" as they trekked 27 miles back to their Coney Island turf from The Bronx. New York City has revived since the Seventies, when street gangs ruled some of the graffiti-scarred neighborhoods in the city's five boroughs. Bloomberg, running for mayor for a third term as an independent, has built on those changes and now has Coney Island in his sights. An oceanside neighborhood in Brooklyn long known for ... Read Full Story

Stephen Baker will happily lie on a bed of nails at Coney Island -- it's the New York authorities' approval Wednesday of a new plan for the iconic amusement park that scares him. "They're going to destroy the magic," said Baker, 42, resting between acts at a freak show that also featured a sword swallower and "elephant woman." Nearly everyone -- even Baker and fellow sideshow colleagues -- agrees that an increasingly decrepit Coney Island needs a makeover. But a plan passed by the City Council on Wednesday to open the gritty seafront area in south Brooklyn to development is sparking controversy. Mayor Michael ... Read Full Story

A plan passed overwhelmingly by the City Council to develop the gritty seafront area of Coney Island in south Brooklyn is sparking controversy. Stephen Baker will happily lie on a bed of nails at Coney Island -- it's the New York authorities' approval Wednesday of a new plan for the iconic amusement park that scares him. "They're going to destroy the magic," said Baker, 42, resting between acts at a freak show that also featured a sword swallower and "elephant woman." Nearly everyone -- even Baker and fellow sideshow colleagues -- agrees that an increasingly decrepit Coney Island needs a makeover. Mayor Michael Bloomberg ... Read Full Story