CONEY ISLAND – After nearly four years of delays, a proposal to remake one of the city’s most recognizable outer borough attractions appears to be on track again.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) announced plans yesterday to spend $96 million in city funds to expand the iconic amusement park through the purchase of seven acres of a nearby property.

The current owner of the park, Thor Equities, had propsed a massive Las Vegas style hotel/entertainment complex for Coney Island as early as 2005.  A 2005 article in New York magazine describes the project as follows:

The plan includes megaplexes. An indoor water park. A 500-room, four-star hotel—four stars, in Coney Island!—and, at the center of it all, an enormous, psychedelic carousel laced with visual cues to a Coney Island that Timothy Leary could have dreamed up. Equally spectacular, Sitt hopes, will be a blimp that will take off from the complex’s roof, carrying tourists on joyrides over the city as it flashes the resort’s name in giant technicolor letters: THE BOARDWALK AT CONEY ISLAND.

City officials, however, raised objections to the project in 2007, after Thor Equities had sought nearly $100 million in city funding while failing to live up to some of it’s promises, according to this post from the Gothamist blog.

The Astroland amusement park, long a part of the island’s history, was closed last year after the owner and Thor failed to reach an agreement regarding a lease.  The park reopened as Dreamland this past summer, however a dispute over rent again forced the iconic park to close on August 21.  Councilman Dominic Recchia (D) took issue with the business dispute, and, after heated discussions, the park was allowed to open for Labor Day weekend.

The revival of the development project by the Bloomberg Administration should prove a very interesting process, as some critics of the proposal have expressed concerns over the character of the popular summer destination, as one activist did in a recent interview:

Coney Island’s unofficial mayor, Dick Zigun, said in July that at first he was pleased by Bloomberg’s masterplan but felt that the neighborhood was give the “ol switcheroo….” that will end with overdevelopment and what Zigun calls “a wall of highrises.”

Anyone who wants a good example of how development – or lack thereof – can affect a summer-time destination should venture down to Wildwood, N.J., once a prospering beach community on the South Jersey Shore and home to it’s own amusement park complex.  Just walk a block or two away from the beach and you’ll see a community that would make some of Brooklyn’s toughest neighborhoods look like Westchester County.

Years ago, there was actually a virbant nightlife in Wildwood City; this past summer, many of the popular nightspots remain shuttered, padlocked, and vacant.  While the amusements still remain, the economic development for the Wildwood area hasn’t exactly spread to the outlying neighborhoods.

One can only hope that Coney Island doesn’t meet the same fate…

The NYPD is searching for two men wanted for separate sexual assault incidents in Brooklyn.  One of the two men is accused of two separate rapes in the borough – one in May, the other last month.

The first attack occured in the 67th Precinct at Church Avenue and East 37th Street, East Flatbush, on May 21, when he allegedly raped a 20 year old woman.  The most recent assault occured on October 20 in the 69th Precinct, when the perp allegedly raped a 14 year old girl in the area of East 105th Street and Avenue N, Canarsie.

The suspect in the East Flatbush and Canarsie rapes is described as a dark complected black male between 25 and 35 years of age, standing approximately 5 foot, 8 inches to 5 foot, 11 inches tall, and weighs approximately 220 to 250 pounds.

In a separate incident, detectives in the 94th Precinct are searching for a second perp wanted for a separate incident that also occured on October 20.

94th Precinct officers responded to the area of Diamond Street and Nassau Avenue, Greenpoint, at around 4:30 a.m. for a report of a rape.  The 25 year old woman was allegedly pushed into a vestibule and assaulted.

She described her attacker as a hispanic male in his 20′s, standing approximately 5 foot, 8 inches to 5 foot, 9 inches tall, weighing around 185 pounds.  The perp was wearing blue jeans and a dark colored t-shirt at the time of the attack.

Anyone with information regarding these two subjects is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS; tipsters can also text “577TIP” and their respective information to CRIMES, or log onto the NYPD Crime Stoppers web site.  All information will be kept confidential.

The NYPD honored a detective assigned to the Patrol Borough Brooklyn South for his service to the West Indian community after returning to work following an emergency liver transplant three years ago.

Det. Nivrose Duncan, a native of Haiti who is fluent in Creole and French who is assigned to the Community Affairs Unit at PBBS, recieved the Theodore Roosevelt Award last month.  Det. Duncan had maintained an excellent attendance record before his medical condition required an emergency liver transplant in 2006.  One week after the transplant, Det. Duncan went through a second emergency surgery which corrected complications caused by the initial transplant.  Det. Duncan returned to the job less than a year later.

Today, Det. Duncan’s responsibilities include serving as a liason to the West Indian community in Brooklyn.  He is one of the organizers of the West Indian-American Day Carnival, which takes place annually on Labor Day weekend and culminates in a Labor Day parade along Eastern Parkway between Utica Avenue, Crown Heights, and Flatbush Avenue, Prospect Heights.

The award is named after the former President of the United States who, prior to serving in the Oval Office, presided over the New York City Police Commission from 1895 to 1897.  President Roosevelt had suffered from a debilitating heart condition and childhood asthma, yet perservered to become the Secretary of the United States Navy and Governor of New York State before he became president in 1901.  The award is presented to members of the NYPD who returned to the job after severe medical hardships.

Det. Duncan was one of six NYPD officers who were honored at an October 27 ceremony in Manhattan by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Crime continues to decline in the borough, as last week’s CompStat report released by the NYPD demonstrates.

Three murders were reported in the borough last week, compared to two last year.  Homicides were reported in the 67^th, 73^rd, and 90^th Precincts last week.

The number of homicides for 2009, however, has increased slightly; 180 murders have been reported in Brooklyn this year – 98 in the north end of the borough and 82 in the south end – compared to 177 during the same period last year (98 in the north end, 79 in the south end).

Detectives in Brooklyn North were also kept busy, with five reported rapes last week, compared only two reported rapes in the same period last year.  The reverse was the case in Brooklyn South, where one rape was reported last week, compared to five during the same period last year.

Rapes were reported to detectives in the 67^th, 73^rd, 75^th, 77^th and 79^th Precincts; two rapes were reported in the 75^th.

Overall, rapes were down across the borough, with 286 reported so far this year (157 North; 129 South) compared to 307 last year (167 North; 140 South).

Auto theft reports remained steady, with 70 reported last week, compared to the same number during the same period last year.  Last year, 44 such incidents were investigated in Brooklyn South and 26 in Brooklyn North; this past week, 50 were reported in Brooklyn South, 20 in Brooklyn North.

The NYPD also reported decreases in other major felony reports, including fewer robberies (122 last week, 176 during the same period last year), felony assaults (100 last week, 115 during the same period last year), burglaries (137 last week, 154 during the same period last year), and grand larcenies (178 last week, 206 during the same period last year).

A detailed breakdown of crime statistics by precinct, borough, and city-wide is available at the NYPD web site.

BROWNSVILLE - Fire fighters make quick work of a working fire of a vacant structure earlier this afternoon.

At around 12:38 p.m., the FDNY was dispatched to 1674 East New York Avenue for a report of a fire in a two story vacant residence on box #77-75-3930.  Upon arrival, crews conducted a search of the property, which showed no residents at the location.  The fire was quickly knocked down and placed under control.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation…

BUSHWICK - A man is in custody this evening after allegedly stabbing another person earlier this evening.

Officers from the 83rd Precinct responded to the area of Cooper Street between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue at around 5:30 pm this evening for a report of a stabbing.  Witnesses reported that a black male wearing a beige jacket had stabbed his victim an unknown number of times.  The suspect fled on foot, however was apprehended a short time later near the scene.

The condition of the victim is not known at this time.  The suspect is expected to be charged with assault and related offenses pending the investigation.

NYPD Aviation was requested to the scene, however, the perp was apprehended before the helicopter arrived in the area…

GRAVESEND - The NYPD has scheduled a public forum Thursday evening regarding a street closing near a NYCTA subway yard.

The forum is in regards to a street closing in the area of the Coney Island Yard on West 13th Street near Shore Parkway.  The street closing is being requested for what is desecribed as security reasons.

The forum will be held at the NYPD Police Service Area #1 station house, located at 2860 West 23rd Street, Coney Island (between Neptune Avenue and Mermaid Avenue) on Thursday between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.  The station house is accessible via the B74/Mermaid Avenue bus which can be caught at the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue subway station from the (D), (F), (N), and (Q) or B64/86th Street-Bath Avenue bus.

One of the longest subway lines in the New York City Subway system – which passes through Brooklyn en route to Manhattan and Queens – is being targeted for a major management and service reliability overhaul, according to a report issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The (F) train – the second longest line in the system at 27 miles from Coney Island to Jamaica, Queens via 6th Avenue in Manhattan – has seen signficant issues with on-time performance; the report noted that schedules have not been updated to reflect increased ridership and new operating patterns with the opening of the 63rd Street connector in Queens.

On-time performance on the (F) – 50.8 percent in July 2009 – is well below the average of New York City Transit Authority system-wide average of 74.4 percent.  The report noted that the length of the line and the complexity of the routing as the primary reasons for it’s poor performance.

The report also noted that in a 17 week period between March and June 2009, an average of 14.6 “slow orders” or other planned service diversions per week – a total of 248 orders.  The orders covered routine maintenance and upgrades of the aging infrastructure which the (F) operates over.

Service in Brooklyn operates over the Culver Line between Coney Island and York Street station in Downtown Brooklyn.  The report noted that elected officials, straphangers, and community activists are advocating express service on the (F) via the Culver Line,  TA officials note that the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation project takes out at least two of the four available tracks and is schedules to continue though 2013.  (F) express service through the borough last operated in 1987.

Another issue with the (F) line is the equipment used on the line.  There are five classes of subway cars used on the line, with the oldest class dating back to the 1960′s.  On average, (F) trains averaged 146,115 miles between failures, worse than the system-wide average of 185,485 miles between failures.  However, most of the older rail cars have been replaced by the newer “R-160″ class of subway cars, which lead to an improvement in “mean distance between failure”.

As part of it’s strategy, the TA is implementing the following strategies:

• The appointment of a general manager for the (F) line, a concept that was introduced on the TA’s numbered lines and was expanded to the lettered lines in July.
• Redesign of the (F) schedules, including a survey of running times along the line, analyzing the 63rd Street Corridor service plan through Queens, an evaluation of (F) express service in Brooklyn, and an assessment of how overnight service is impacted by maintenance and capital work.
• Management of car-loads along the line.
• Improvement of the car fleet performance, which is being addressed with the retirement of the older subway cars introduction of the R-160 cars.
• Delay management strategies would be implented; at present, some Coney Island-bound trains skip stations during the evenings as a response to delays.
• Addressing the aging infrastructure and delays due to work along the tracks.

The entire report is available at the MTA web site.

EAST FLATBUSH – A 36 year old man faces charges after allegedly attacking a fellow motorist over a parking space.

Officers from the 67th Precinct responded to the intersection of Linden Blvd. and Utica Ave. at around 11:30 p.m. on October 29 for a report of a dispute of a parking space.  One of the drivers, identified as Hance Layne, allegedly struck his victim in the head with a tire jack.  The victim, identified only as a 38 year old male, was knocked to the ground, suffering only minor lacerations.

Layne reportedly fled the scene in his car.  The victim, however, was able to give officers the license plate number of Layne’s vehicle.  Layne was taken into custody on Sunday; he faces charges of Assault, Menacing, and Weapon Possession…

Riders on the (G) train will see some late-night and overnight service adjustments due to ongoing track maintenance starting tonight.

Between 8:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Monday through Friday, service between the Long Island City-Court Square station, Queens, and the Forest Hills/71st Avenue station, Queens will be suspended.  All (G) train service will operate between Court Square and Church Avenue station, Kensington.

Brooklyn bound passengers will have take the (R) train to Queens Plaza, then transfer to the (E) train at 23rd Street/Ely Avenue station, then connect to the (G) train at Long Island City-Court Square.  For Queens bound passengers, transfer to the (E) at Court Square, then to the (R).

Additionally, between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., (G) train service will operate in two sections – one section will operate between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand station, Bedford-Stuyvesant, the second section between Bedford-Nostrand and Church Avenue stations.  Passengers will be required to transfer at Bedford-Nostrand station.

Service on both segments will operate with 30 minute headways as opposed to the 20 minute headways normally offered.  The service adjustments are expected to last two weeks, ending on November 20.

Weekend service between Forest Hills and Church Avenue are not expected to be affected.

For additional information, visit the MTA New York City Transit web site.

CANARSIE – One man is in custody after an attempted burglary in Canarsie.

Officers from the 69th Precinct responded to the area of East 93rd Street and Avenue L for a report of a residential burglary.  One perp was taken into custody; a second suspect reportedly fled in a white van with Florida license plates.  An NYPD Avaition unit is in the area searching for the vehicle.

Additional concerns regarding the at-large suspect involve two nearby public schools – Canarsie High School and PS 115.  The immediate impact on those two schools are not immediately known.

No further details regarding the burglary are available as of this writing.  Anyone in Canarsie who may have spotted the white van in question should call the 69th Precinct Detective Squad at (718) 257-6306.

(First in an occasional series highlighting the most wanted criminals in Brooklyn; information taken from the NYPD Crime Stoppers web site)

A man wanted in connection with a Downtown bank robbery last month has been classified as the “most wanted” bank robber in New York by the NYPD.

Detectives from the 84th Precinct are investigating a robbery that occured at the Chase Bank at DeKalb Avenue and Fleet Street on October 26 at around 3:45 p.m.  The suspect approached the teller with a demand note and recieved an unknown amount of U.S. currency before fleeing the bank on foot.

The suspect is described as a black male between 25 and 30 years old, standing approximately 6 feet to 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs approxmately 250 pounds, and sported a beard at the time of the robbery.  He was wearing a blue Mets baseball cap, a blue hooded jacket, a black shirt and black pants.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, text “TIP577″ with your information to “CRIMES” (274637), or submit your information online.  All information will be kept confidential.