Paul's Daughter with the Wonder Wheel behind it (Photo by もも on Unsplash)x
Coney Island Boardwalk businesses to get a new lease on life
Rent reductions and favorable subleases come in the wake of big pandemic losses—but not everyone is celebrating
An array of businesses on Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk are poised to receive significant economic aid from city government, over a year after the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic shutdown erased an entire season’s worth of profits.
Two of the boardwalk’s amusement parks, along with several restaurants and shops, are in talks with city officials to get sublease extensions of 10 years or more, with decreases in rent instead of increases, The City is reporting.
The city’s Economic Development Corporation is behind the proposal, which will need to be approved by the City Council at a December 16 vote.
Luna Park, the amusement park that opened in 2010 but is named after the early 20th-century park of the same name, and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, home to the world-famous ferris wheel from 1920 that is one of Coney Island’s most popular attractions, are among those looking to benefit from the new leases. Their current contracts go through 2027; the proposed extensions would keep their rent stable until 2037.
Other businesses named in The City report include the restaurants Paul’s Daughter, Tom’s Coney Island and Ruby’s Bar & Grill, and the retail store Brooklyn Beach Shop.
“The resulting lease and sublease extensions will afford them greater stability, enable them to better recover from the pandemic, and help them engage in long-term investments beneficial to the Coney Island community,” EDC spokesperson Mary Mueller said at a hearing on the extensions last week.
The City noted that one business has been left out of the lease extension conversation: Lola Star, a longtime clothing and souvenir shop located in the center of the boardwalk.
Lola Star’s owner said she was not contacted by the EDC or anyone else about an extension, and claimed that the shop had been facing a 400 percent rent hike—before the pandemic. The shop is affiliated with the Dreamland Roller Rink, a disco roller skating experience that pops up annually in Prospect Park.
“I am disappointed and confused about why I was excluded from the other boardwalk tenants that they are assisting and helping in negotiating a fair deal,” Dianna Carlin said.
The boardwalk, which generates millions of dollars a year in revenue, was entirely shut down for all of summer 2020, as the city closed all non-essential businesses in the midst of the pandemic.
