New Negotiations Revitalize Coney Island

City may get extended nine acre amusement park.

By: Larry Dunn The New York Post reports Mayor Bloomberg and the city in a new lead waltzing with Coney Island developer Joe Sitt. Astroland Park operator Carol Albert may be provided more time and elbow room to rejuvenate the 3.1 acre park on a nearby site. Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr. (D-Brooklyn) is helping broker a $200 million to $250 million deal between the city and Thor Equities, Sitt's company, for purchase of the beachfront property from Sitt. Allowing the mayor to renew his plans to revitalize the fabled seaside amusement park into a nine acre project will replace Stit's bold Las Vegas idea of a 1.5 billion entertainment gambling complex. The two-year stand off between Sitt and the city was trumped with the city's $11 million purchase of a 1-acre spot in the middle of the beachfront property. Sitt has future plans for major projects in Bensonhurst and Red Hook. As protected landmarks, the Cyclone rollercoaster and the Wonder Wheel remain untouchable should negotiations fall through.