Nate Bliss

The revitalization plan, produced by the New York Economic Development Corporation and a now-defunct subsidiary—the Coney Island Development Corporation—consists largely of a modernized resurrection of Coney Island’s storied past. But how such a vision might coexist with a residential neighborhood bearing little resemblance to the one that stood beside the coasters and carousels of old remains unclear. The here-and-now appeal of early 20th-century Coney Island honky-tonk—its ability to underpin the sort of world-class destination that planners are banking on—is likewise unproven.