We need your help TODAY because the City Council is currently voting on a plan for the next 16 years in Coney Island that excludes the local Coney Island community from these reasonable and commonplace requests. 

There wasn’t any community input and the local community DEMANDS a seat at the table.

Without consulting the local community for recommendations, a lease extension is being pushed to a vote in City Council.  This extension continues to give one international corporation control over a majority of the City-owned land in the Coney Island Amusement District.

We have been given only one day to delay this vote!  

We need YOUR HELP NOW to keep the taxpayer owned land in the Coney Island Amusement District accessible and affordable to the local residents of Coney Island!  We need your help in ensuring a large corporation developing this City-owned land gives back to the community through amenities and benefits as they do in other neighborhoods of NYC!  

The City of New York is requesting that the City Council approve an extension to Central Amusements International’s (CAI) lease for an additional 10 years, moving the lease expiration from 2027 to 2037. 

We commend Councilman Mark Treyger and the Coney Island Alliance for helping 4 of the 5 Boardwalk small businesses by including them in this extension and helping them with a rent reduction. However, we believe that more work needs to be done on this extension and that it should be presented for community input allowing for stipulations to be added to this extension which will benefit the local community. 

There has been no public notice, no public discussion, and no public involvement whatsoever.  This rushed agreement is unnecessary as the current lease is not set to expire for six more years, leaving plenty of time to obtain community feedback.  

The original lease the City granted CAI in 2009 was extremely generous, giving CAI control over much of Coney Island’s historic amusement district for a mere $100,000 per year plus a small percentage of revenue. We believe that, especially considering the nature of this sweetheart deal, benefits and amenities for the local community should be carved into this agreement as they commonly are in other neighborhoods in NYC.

The current lease terms with CAI on this City Owned land have not provided sufficient entrepreneurial opportunities and local job growth. The future of the Amusement District must be more closely intertwined with the local economy. Extending this lease without addressing the negative impact it has already caused would be a great disservice to the community and the future of this cherished NYC landmark.

We ask City Council to delay this vote until the community has the opportunity to discuss the shortcomings of this current agreement

The following is the start of some of the stipulations that the community would like to discuss and add to the agreement between CAI and the City of New York 

• The City Owned amusement area, ride and admission fees should not be cost prohibitive to the local residents 
• More opportunities for small business growth, expansion, and innovation
• Ensuring that amusements and side streets are publicly accessible
• Offering affordable lease terms/rates to all the small business sub lessees, that are more comparable to the generous terms and rates CAI receives from the City of NY 
• Assist in developing programs to promote and encourage small business growth both in and out of the amusement district.
• creating subsidized leasing opportunities that will enable more small businesses to open up on this City Owned land and on the recently closed to traffic, public streets which are currently being used for vending and amusement park ticket sales.
• directing more commerce and tourism towards the often neglected Mermaid Avenue businesses  
• Promote businesses in the local community, including adding those businesses to a map, promotions, and signage etc.   
• Help to organize a local business association 
• Conducting a regional traffic study to encourage tourism while reducing impact on local neighborhood and infrastructure
• Helping to create public Bike rental program that encourages a more holistic traffic cycle by encouraging car-free alternatives
• Promote more job opportunities, with a focus on hiring from the local community and filling those positions with residents of Coney Island to prevent turnover and create transparency 

We demand a public session where the community is able to review the terms of this lease and request additions that will benefit our local community prior to the City Council vote on Dec 9th.   

We respectfully request that this lease extension vote be put on hold and that the community of Coney Island is given a chance to review the lease terms to ensure it benefits the entire community.  

Please sign this petition to show elected officials you care about the future of Coney Island and the community’s needs and we will make sure your voice is heard.