![\"mourners](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_13.jpg\")
\u201cMourners\u201d pay tribute to the rejected Coney Island casino plan at a mock funeral.Photo by Paul Frangipane ![\"brannan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_16.jpg\")
Council MemberJustin Brannan received a warm welcome at the party. Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\nThe body of the proposed Coney Island casino was still warm when its funeral began.\n<\/p>\n
As locals filled the front room at Coney Island USA on the night of Sept. 29, Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny fake wept over a makeshift casket filled with \u201cThe Coney\u201d flyers and cotton candy. People snapped photos of their middle fingers outstretched toward the coffin and scribbled not-so-fond notes in the guestbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just hours earlier, the Community Advisory Council had voted The Coney down 4-2, officially ending its bid for a state casino license. Council Member Justin Brannan, the chair of the committee and the first member to announce that he would vote against the casino, received a hero\u2019s welcome when he arrived at the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cMourners\u201d pay tribute to the rejected Coney Island casino plan at a mock funeral.Photo by Paul Frangipane Council MemberJustin Brannan received a warm welcome at the party. Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n
When it came time for eulogies, lavishly-dressed pallbearers carried the casket into a packed auditorium and set it down in front of Adam Rinn, Coney Island USA\u2019s artistic director and the master of ceremonies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to mock [The Coney] as they have mocked us for three years,\u201d Rinn told the crowd. \u201cIt took a group of dedicated grassroots activists to take down a multimillion dollar effort, which consisted of paid lobbyists, paid advocates. Lobbyists who pocketed thousands upon thousands of dollars to sell a pack of lies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The raucous funeral was a celebration for the Coney Islanders who had most vehemently opposed the casino, and marked the end of a long and divisive period in Coney Island history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But The Coney left its mark on the People\u2019s Playground and its residents \u2014 those celebrated the casino\u2019s death and those who mourned it.\n<\/p>\n
The life and death of The Coney\u00a0<\/p>\n
In late 2022, Thor Equities, a local development company owned by longtime southern Brooklynite Joe Sitt, said it would throw its hat in the ring for one of three new casino licenses set to be distributed by the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Together with the Chickasaw Nation, Saratoga Casino Development and Legends Hospitality, Thor proposed a $3.4 billion, 1.4 million-square-foot facility between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk, spread across several underdeveloped lots already owned by Sitt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Developers said the casino \u2014 which would have included a hotel, convention center, restaurants and stores \u2014 would bring thousands of permanent jobs and year-round economic activity to the seaside town, which struggles in colder months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/coney-casino-cac-votes.webp\")
A rendering of The Coney. Image courtesy of The Coney<\/p>\n
When the bid was announced in 2022, Sitt said<\/a> he was \u201ccommitted to creating lasting prosperity for a community and its residents and turn Coney Island into a vibrant year-round destination for all to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposal proved immediately divisive.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Residents lambasted the project at a series of public meetings in spring 2023. Many worried a casino would overwhelm Coney Island\u2019s infrastructure<\/a>, drive up rent, and damage local businesses and the iconic amusement district.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those meetings also marked the start of an often combative relationship between locals and the casino team.\n<\/p>\n Still, some felt good about the proposal. Its earliest supporters said Coney Island desperately needed the jobs the casino promised. Others said<\/a> if the project should include funding for the boardwalk, jobs training, and transportation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Coney sweetened the deal, pledging to create a community trust fund, provide additional funding for local emergency services and help fund the theoretical Coney Island ferry if the casino were approved.\u00a0<\/p>\n But things grew more contentious over time. Locals attacked each other<\/a> and The Coney<\/a> online. Drama at Community Board 13 reached new heights earlier this year as the board weighed<\/a> a rezoning<\/a> that would allow Thor to build larger, taller buildings if its license were approved.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brannan voted to approve the rezoning when the application reached the City Council<\/a>. At the time, he said it was his \u201cresponsibility 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The two CAC meetings, hosted in late August<\/a> and early September<\/a> at the Coney Island YMCA, were hours long and packed to the gills.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speakers from both sides were repeatedly shouted down, and one attendee told Brooklyn Paper she had been threatened with violence by a pro-casino advocate. At the second hearing on the night of Sept. 10, police stepped in to break up two separate physical fights, and rumors flew<\/a> afterward that The Coney had bribed people to testify in favor of the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just over 200 people spoke across the two CAC hearings. Roughly 140 were opposed to the casino, and just 60 were in favor.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n A week before the CAC was set to vote, Brannan announced in an Op-Ed that he would vote against it. Three other members \u2014 Reynoso, state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, and Marissa Solomon, who was appointed by Brook-Krasny \u2014 followed suit<\/a>. On Sept. 29, they officially cast their votes<\/a>, and The Coney was no more.<\/p>\n Locals grapple with fallout of a long fight\u00a0<\/p>\n Some Coney Islanders said the battle over the casino, no matter how contentious, had been unifying.<\/p>\n \u201cIt united our community more than years and dozens of nonprofits and events could,\u201d local activist Angela Kravtchenko said at the funeral. \u201cWe literally got united from Sea Gate to Brighton Beach, and I\u2019m so excited to see our elected officials, from different backgrounds, they all voted no to this.\u201d<\/p>\n Council Member Inna Vernikov, a Republican whose district includes parts of Coney Island, Sea Gate, and Brighton Beach, was vehemently opposed to the project and voted against the rezoning in the City Council. Brook-Krasny, also a Republican, was publicly against the project from the start, and appointed Solomon \u2014 an outspoken casino critic \u2014 to the CAC.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis moment in history calls on all of us to step up, to reach across, to put aside our differences,\u201d said Maxim Ibadov, a drag performer who appears at Coney Island regularly as Maxxim Fab. \u201cI never thought I would be applauding a Republican Assembly Member as a queer person, but we were able to put aside our differences.\u201d<\/p>\n Ibadov, who moved to New York from Russia in 2012, said fighting the development was critical not just for Coney Island\u2019s artists, but for the large immigrant community who reside there and in nearby Brighton Beach.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who come from different walks of life, different generations, we speak different languages,\u201d they told the crowd. \u201cYet the universal truths of justice, community, fairness, love, they outshined all of that. I hope this is a blueprint for how we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Cowell, who has lived in Coney Island for nearly 60 years, said she was \u201cso happy\u201d the casino had been voted down, and that she \u201cmet so many wonderful people\u201d while fighting against it.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we can promote Coney Island more, build more vibes, do more things, and we\u2019ll still be able to do the Mermaid Parade and fireworks every Friday night during the summer,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd everybody just being together. It\u2019s like one little community, it\u2019s wonderful. I would never trade it for anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Others felt differently.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Dick Zigun, the longtime \u201cunelected mayor of Coney Island,\u201d said he has been in favor of a Coney Island casino since the 1970s, the first time one was proposed<\/a> for the nabe. When Thor announced their plan, he threw his weight behind it, and was eventually being paid by The Coney for \u201cpublic outreach,\u201d according to its gaming license application.\u00a0<\/p>\n The backlash Zigun faced from neighbors was \u201chorrible and intimidating,\u201d he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI personally feel like on social media, at one point, people were advocating violence against me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was awful.\u201d\u00a0 Zigun founded Coney Island USA and the Mermaid Parade, but parted from the organization in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a long history of speaking up, everybody knows where I\u2019m coming from,\u201d he said. \u201cI think a lot of other people were intimidated, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Erica Turner, who helped lead the charge against The Coney, grew close with her fellow organizers during the three-year campaign, she said. Simultaneously, she was growing frustrated with the casino\u2019s supporters and developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI made a lot of enemies during this time. A lot,\u201d she said. \u201cIt impacted us in a negative way, because we\u2019ve seen how they were coming out, trying to buy the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Marie Mirville-Shahzada, the executive director of Alfadila Community Services, saw the casino as \u201can opportunity to bring much-needed investment into a community that has been neglected for far too long,\u201d she told Brooklyn Paper. She vocally supported the project for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Sept. 10 CAC hearing, she said her position had come \u201cat a personal cost.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMy children, my businesses, my nonprofit organization and even my faith have been verbally attacked,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cI have been slandered on social media, boycotted, and blacklisted by those who oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n With the casino off the table, Mirville-Shahzada feels Coney Island needs \u201ca period of healing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe community needs peace and understanding to mend relationships that were strained during this process,\u201d she said. \u201cMy hope is that future initiatives will continue to bring positive investment into our neighborhood \u2014 in ways that unite rather than divide us.\u201d<\/p>\n For some, that mending came quickly. Minutes after the final CAC vote at the Coney Island Public Library on Sept. 29, Robert Packer \u2014 who had organized in favor of the casino \u2014 greeted his longtime friend and casino opponent Lucy Mujica Diaz.<\/p>\n Mujica Diaz said some of her relationships were soured by the fight, but that she worked to keep things civil as often as possible\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to use Joe Packer as an example. Thirty years we know each other, 30 or 40 years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were on both ends, but we made sure that our friendship and relationship continued, because he had his passion for the community and I had mine, and that\u2019s what friendship is about.\u201d<\/p>\n Coney\u2019s post-casino future\u00a0<\/p>\n As thoroughly as Coney Islanders clashed over the casino, most could agree on one thing: The People\u2019s Playground needs a boost.\u00a0<\/p>\n The median household income in CB13 is $47,177 per year, according to city data<\/a>, the citywide average, and the poverty rate is 26.3%. Employment among Coney Islanders ages 16-64 is lower than it is citywide, and when the beach and theme parks close in the colder months, the boardwalk is often deserted and local businesses shuttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n Zigun said Coney Island\u2019s specially-zoned entertainment district has been cut down in size significantly since the 1960s, and feels the priority should be on rides and entertainment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cConey Island needs a big project, it needs to be built on Thor Equities property, which is the only large property available, like it or not,\u201d he said. \u201cMy fear is that the people who are delighted they killed the casino were going to want to kill other things and advocate for housing or senior center things that would be excellent for the community, but not on that property. There\u2019s so little acreage left for the amusement and tourist area.\u201d<\/p>\n In the immediate future, he said, the community might be best off looking for \u201ccommon ground\u201d in small projects that would benefit residents and tourists, like a movie theater or bowling alley.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thor Equities did not return a request for comment.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n When Brannan took the stage at the funeral, he said Coney Island shouldn\u2019t be a neighborhood \u201cthat says no to everything.\u201d \u201cBut we want to be a place where we say yes to things that complement our neighborhood and make our neighborhood better and stronger, not cannibalize our neighborhood,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Oct. 6, Brannan hosted a \u201ccommunity conversation<\/a>\u201d about the nabe\u2019s next steps. The Coney Island Neighborhood Revitalization corporation hosted a similar event<\/a> in partnership with the Pratt Institute a few weeks later.\u00a0<\/p>\n Working with Thor Equities is inevitable, Brannan said, since the company owns so much land. But he felt locals had the upper hand after shooting the casino down.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s harness that power, let\u2019s not let it end tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cThink about what we really want, a water park, an artist district \u2026 there\u2019s a million things we can do, and these guys can still make a boatload of money off it, but do it in a way that they\u2019re not going to bleed us dry and suck all of the goddamn oxygen out of the last egalitarian playground in the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The body of the proposed Coney Island casino was still warm when its funeral began. As locals filled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[14473,2898,14474,14475,14476,98,100,99,5430,2026,14477,1882,14478,119,14479,14480,1527,14481,2184,14482,14483,12858,10687,14484,10429,14485,14486,10981,14487,14488,14489,14490,14491,14492,9,24,63,7215,3867,14493,13840],"class_list":["post-21696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-adam-rinn","tag-antonio-reynoso","tag-beach","tag-boardwalk","tag-bribery","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-cac","tag-casino","tag-chickasaw-nation","tag-community","tag-community-advisory-committee","tag-coney-island","tag-coney-island-casino","tag-coney-island-usa","tag-construction","tag-denos-wonder-wheel","tag-development","tag-dick-zigun","tag-entertanment","tag-fight","tag-funeral","tag-future","tag-gambling","tag-jessica-scarcella-spanton","tag-joe-sitt","tag-justin-brannan","tag-lucy-mujica-diaz","tag-luna-park","tag-marie-mirville-shahzada","tag-marissa-solomon","tag-meetings","tag-neighbors","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-plan","tag-proposal","tag-the-coney","tag-thor-equities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/theconey-rendering-jan2025-2-e1737063018495.jpg\")
The Coney\u2019s developers promised jobs, funding and advocacy for public services. Image courtesy of The Coney<\/p>\n![\"large](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Hearing_ConeyIslandCasino_082625-12.jpg\")
Locals packed the meeting room at the local YMCA for the first public CAC hearing on Aug. 26.File photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n![\"coney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_23.jpg\")
Coney Island USA\u2019s artistic director, Adam Rinn, dropped a \u201cThe Coney\u201d T-shirt into the casket. Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_38.jpg\")
Maxim Ibadov said locals had come together despite differences in age, language and politics.Photo by Paul Frangipane ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_32.jpg\")
Coney Island residents cheered for the speakers who spearheaded the anti-casino effort.Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n
\n![\"Dick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Erica-Price_MermaidParade2024_126.jpg\")
Dick Zigun, the \u201cunelected mayor of Coney Island,\u201d at the 2024 Mermaid Parade.File photo by Erica Price\n<\/p>\n
\n![\"Marie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Hearing_ConeyIslandCasino_082625-24.jpg\")
Marie Mirville-Shahzada at the first CAC meeting. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann\n<\/p>\n![\"riegelmann](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/093_EricaPrice_632-1200x800-1.webp\")
Coney Island is quiet in the winter months, and many small businesses struggle. File photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n
\n![\"brannan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20250929_Frangipane_Paul_The_Coney_Funeral_27.jpg\")
Brannan encouraged Coney Islanders to keep up momentum and plan for the future of the nabe.Photo by Paul Frangipane\n<\/p>\n