Check it Out: Little Rus' Went on Tour

Ok so we know you all brushed us off last weekend on the walking tour of Coney Island that was given by the Municipal Arts Society, since their were mostly old Coney Island groupies from the 1950s there (just kidding -- in case any of those people are/were readers). On a serious note though, Joe Svehlak led the tour and provided a wealth of information about the rise, plateau, and subsequent fall of Coney Island's role in American culture (along with many whimsical personal stories that were quite entertaining). We were able to take quite a few interesting photos and have uploaded them onto our Flickr page (see our Flickr link on the right side of the page).

From the start of the tour it was clear that the new development plans were a major topic as many of our fellow tourists were asking questions about what would stay versus what will be torn down. But as we were led around the historic neighborhood it became quite apparent to us that Coney Island is in drastic need of a face lift. The buildings are run down, the streets are littered with trash, and there are numerous empty plots of land that are itching to be snatched up once the City officially announces a re-development plan.

That said, a major theme of Mr. Svehlak's tour was that re-development would be good for the area, however placing higher-end and mass culture retailers in the neighborhood would destroy the abrasiveness that Coney Island is known for. This is quite true, although it seems that enough interest has formed and several organizations have come together to help preserve that aspect of the area. The key question left lingering is not a matter of "if", but more likely a matter of "when/how" will Coney Island be redeveloped and the follow-up to that is what type of places can be created to help preserve the originality of the landmark neighborhood.

On the lighter side, we were shocked to find out that Coney Island used to be the "Hollywood" of the East Coast with somewhere near one-million people visiting on a given summer day. One snippet of quirky information that we especially liked was that the area used to have a hotel in the shape of a REAL elephant! Anyhow: you missed a great tour, but we found these documentaries that might suffice: Coney Island short (discovered thanks to our friends at Gowanus Lounge).
Preview of NYU Documentary (Film's site).

Build it: Development Pipeline

By now, I am sure that every New Yorker has heard something about the Coney Island re-development plans and its never ending turmoil. Although it may be frightening for some and exciting for others, we have a news flash for those of us living in the surrounding areas: the Brighton neighborhood is a few steps ahead of these Coney Island guys. The Little Rus' team decided to run a little investigation of our own and chalk up the number of developments happening right in the backyard of the amusement park, and our results are astonishing! We found over 17, thats right 17, new condo/apartment projects that have either recently been finished or are in the process of going vertical (aka under construction). And you thought the west side of Manhattan was booming! Keep in mind, this is all within about a four block radius (See Map).



Our guess is that in anticipation of the major re-zoning of Coney Island, some developers have jumped the gun and already started projects. That being said, we shall see how these projects perform and their affect on the Brighton Beach community. Overall, we expect to see some major price drops in the next 6-12 months as these projects come to market which is partially due to the recent tightening up of the mortgage lending industry. However, the Oceana complex was a major hit among the Russian community and has gone through two to three series of price increases (starting range was $400k-1.5M, is now $600k-2.8M). The Oceana's success may be misleading though, as it is an enormous complex that has gyms, pools, clubhouses, and is enclosed by gates. Also, it was probably one of the first new condo projects to come to market in this area to replace the extremely old stock of housing.

Anyhow, we are committed to monitoring the housing situation as these new projects finish one by one and we will make our best effort to report on each development.