The City Council voted on Monday to approve a a rezoning related to the proposed Coney Island casino.
Image courtesy of The Coney
The New York City Council on Monday approved a rezoning that would allow the proposed Coney Island casino to build a massive facility in the People’s Playground.
Council members — including Justin Brannan, who represents the nabe — voted 36-11 with four abstentions in favor of The Coney’s plan to demap part of Bowery Street and purchase air rights above existing streets and buildings, making way for three high-rise towers and two pedestrian bridges.
“Today’s vote continues to show that the more people learn about our project and the benefits it will bring, the more they like it,” said Melissa Gliatta, COO of Thor Equities, in a statement. “We now move one step closer to fulfilling a promise of economic transformation for Coney Island that includes the creation of thousands of jobs and a $200 million locally led community trust fund.”
The vote does not guarantee that The Coney is coming. The team — headed by Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities — is still vying for one of three new Downstate casino licenses from the state. Last week, eight casino teams, including The Coney, submitted their applications to the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board, and final decisions won’t be made until the end of this year. In the meantime, each application will be reviewed by its own Community Advisory Committee comprised of six members appointed by local elected officials. Each CAC will hold at least two public hearings, and must hold a final vote on the applications by Sept. 30. Only applications supported by at least two-thirds of the CAC will be considered by the Board.
In a statement, Brannan told Brooklyn Paper it was “not up to me alone” to determine whether there was enough support for the casino.
“Trust me I would much rather have Coney Islanders organize for what they want than feel like they must fight for what they don’t want,” he said. “It is my responsibility to ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to make their voices heard on this matter through the Community Advisory Committee process mandated by New York State. Then all of the local elected officials can make a decision collectively.”
The proposed casino and rezoning have proven divisive among Coney Islanders. In January, Community Board 13 voted overwhelmingly against the rezoning, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in March announced conditional support of the proposal.
Council Member Inna Vernikov, who represents part of Coney Island and Brighton Beach, voted against the rezoning.
“This demapping makes the casino application and proposed development more likely to take place,” she said. “Therefore, I must vote against it, as over the past many months and at this point years, it has become clear that a majority in the community do not want a casino in Coney Island.”
The rezoning would allow The Coney, if it receives a license, to build three towers between 153 and 402 feet tall. Those towers would be connected by two large “floating” pedestrian bridges across Stillwell Avenue and West 12th Street.
Per zoning documents, the casino will stretch across more than 1.3 million square feet, and include a 500-room hotel, a convention center, retail space, and 1,500 parking spots. The development would not remove the area’s famous theme parks, Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel.
The team behind The Coney say it would create 4,000 union construction jobs, 4,500 permanent jobs, and a $200 million “Community Trust” to fund local projects, plus a separate $15 million annual fund to support local emergency services.
At a January CB13 hearing, local Joseph Watson said the nabe needs the investments and the jobs.
“My ‘yes’ to The Coney is for the investments in our community,” he said at the time. “I’m talking about the kids and the young men and women that live in NYCHA, that are renters, OK, they’re not homeowners. These people, my people, we need an opportunity.”
Some locals, though, say the casino would put their livelihoods at risk. Coney Island USA, which is home to the Circus Sideshow, the Coney Island Museum, the Freak Bar and the Mermaid Parade, sits on the corner of one of the rezoned blocks. If the casino were constructed, it would sit directly atop Coney Island USA headquarters.
Adam Rinn, artistic director at Coney Island USA, said the vote was “extremely disappointing.”
“It’s disappointing that we have elected officials who are here to represent the people. And let’s be clear about that word: The people. Their constituents, not the folks with big money, not the developers,” he said. “We have over 20,000 signatures opposing this casino project. And the nerve, the nerve of these electeds to not take that into consideration. This is not a project that is here to help, this is a project that is set to destroy.”
But Rinn said the fight would continue, and said he’s hopeful the casino may not come to fruition — pointing to the 11 “no” votes from members including Shahana Hanif and Chi Ossé.
“We hope that the people of this city will stand behind us,” he said. “We hope that the electeds will see the support that we’re getting, and that we’ve been getting.”
If the gaming license were denied, the rezoning would be overturned — meaning developers would not be able to use the decision to build a non-casino facility.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates. Last updated 6/30/25, 8:50 p.m.
