Coney Island to Expand Amusements Via Eminent Domain Plan

It looks like the amount of amusements offered in Coney Island may be expanding again soon if the City's Parks Department has their way.  According to the New York Post, the Coney Island Parks Department plans to acquire a total of 75,000 square feet of space spread over three plots of land by invoking eminent domain.

All three spaces are adjacent to the already redeveloped areas filled with amusements, though their current owners have asked for highly inflated purchase prices in the past.  This has led the properties to sit vacant or in a deteriorated status, while the rest of the area shines.

The largest of the three plots, seen above, is the original home of the wooden Thunderbolt roller coaster.  Stretching around 60,000 square feet, it is still completely undeveloped and sits between the recently opened new Thunderbolt coaster and the local baseball stadium.

The other plots of land, if acquired, would allow a grand promenade to be finished that would run from this area all the way down to Luna Park - effectively connecting all the amusements along it.

It is the large open space by the Thunderbolt that would be home to new amusements though, and the article says that proposals for new rides would be accepted by the City.  There have been rumors that a small water park had been planned for this site, though it is far too early to tell if that would really happen.  I would also wager that Zamperla might have an interest in filling even more space with their creations in the future.

I'm sure the process of eminent domain would take some time, so it still might be quite a while until we have new rides popping up in the area.  Thankfully there are already plenty of great ones already there!