Clash Over Plans for a Brooklyn Park

The way Marty Markowitz sees it, the rundown nine-acre park where Coney Island and Brighton Beach meet is ripe for a sparkling transformation.

Residents fear a planned 5,000-seat amphitheater would draw too many visitors and change the quiet character of the park.  (NY Times)

From Trash to Trophies: A New Golf Course Grows in the Bronx

As part of last fall’s PGA Tour FedEx Playoffs, the Barclays Classic was contested at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey amid great fanfare. Television coverage kept panning to the spectacular views of the New York skyline and also covered the conversion of the former industrial waste site to tournament golf venue.

Broad Channel Marina site development sought

Despite recent reports that the old Schmitt’s Marina at West 19th Road in Broad Channel “will one day become a waterfront park,” the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for the improvement of the parcel.

According to the Parks Department, “This RFEI is intended to solicit ideas for the revitalization of this currently dormant and underused asset from members of the local community, area non-profits and local entrepreneurs, experts in the fields of ecology, outdoor recreation, or sustainable development.”

(Queens Courier)

Coney Island will be alive with new rides this summer

Zamperla USA, which operates Victorian Gardens, the popular kiddie park at Wollman Rink in Central Park, has won the bid to set up shop on a 7-acre chunk of land that includes the site of the now-shuttered Astroland.

Trial by Ferry

There is nothing wrong with holding the trial of the man who has described himself as the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, in federal court in New York. But there is something wrong with spending upward of $200 million per year on security for a multiyear trial and disrupting the lives of people who have homes and jobs in Lower Manhattan,

State allots $1.6M in grants for development of Fresh Kills, High Rock Park

Staten Island has received $1.6 million in state grant money for revitalization and development projects at the former Fresh Kills landfill and High Rock Park.

Missing bolts, faulty planks mar new Coney Island Boardwalk

New boardwalk, same as the old Boardwalk.

Newly rebuilt chunks of the famed Coney Island Boardwalk are already starting to fall apart, advocates said.

Frigid tradition of Coney Island Polar Bear Club takes breath away

It sounds crazy, but these guys say the best beach weather on Coney Island comes in January.

No ‘Coney Island Center’ without environmental study

Borough President Marty Markowitz’s drive to build his new $64 million “Coney Island Center” at Asser Levy Seaside Park will not go forward until an environmental assessment is done.

River Castle, Ever More an Apparition, Further Crumbles

Bannerman’s Castle was already an enigmatic ruin in the middle of the Hudson River, a dreamy landmark for passing train travelers and a passionate cause for preservationists.

Plan to develop NYC waterfront clears final step

A plan to revitalize a bleak stretch of land along Manhattan’s west side waterfront was approved Monday by the New York City Council, but the project remains without financing and it will likely be many years before any buildings go up.

Cedar Grove beach bungalows to give way to public park

In what is likely a death blow to the private Cedar Grove Beach Club, the city Parks Department said yesterday it plans to remake a large, privately leased stretch of New Dorp Beach and open it to the public.

Coney Island redevelopment plan attracts 50 amusement park companies from seven countries

It’s the scramble for Coney Island.

The competition to build a new amusement park at the faded seaside mecca has reached a fever pitch as a who’s who of amusement operators work to put together proposals by a Dec. 18 deadline.

Washington Considers Funding Parks to Rebuild Cities

Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would provide federal funding for urban parks and recreation for the first time in eight years.

Pick for Environment Post Raises Some Eyebrows

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said he will remain vastly ambitious in his third term, and is committed to a sweeping environmental agenda.

City floats Coney Island ferry service

Ahoy, Coney Island! The city is looking at three sites around the neighborhood that could one day become a new commuter ferry’s port o’ call.

Monster blackfish caught in New York Harbor

To the ever-growing list of big fish that will be hard to top, local anglers can add the monster blackfish caught by Yakov Elkin of Brooklyn. While fishing in about 35 feet of water near the West Bank Lighthouse of New York Harbor on Nov. 11, Elkin wrestled aboard a 20.65-pound bulldog that, if certified, should rank as a state record for the species.

After Coney Island Deal, Sitt Also Holds Red Hook Cards

I don’t know their names or how many there are, but one can bet that there were some city employees who unexpectedly spent last weekend getting ready for a trip.

Fix the pipes, save the river

There’s the Champlain Bridge and its vital link between New York’s North Country and Vermont that was allowed to rot beyond repair. There’s the realization that some 110 bridges across the state are in as bad or perhaps worse condition, and the cost of fixing or replacing them. And all the while, there have been aging sewer systems in older communities discharging untreated sewage into the Hudson River

ISC may sell Staten Island land

An $80 million deal with KB Marine Holdings LLC could finally extricate International Speedway Corp. from its ill-fated plan to build a racetrack on Staten Island, while giving the company cash it can spend on a proposed Kansas City, Kan., casino project.