Some ten years after it gained landmark status, the future looks clearer than it ever has for the long-empty Childs Restaurant at the Coney Island Boardwalk. On Thursday, the New York Times reports, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz plans to announce a plan to convert the restaurant into part of a new theater for Coney Island. It’s an idea that’s been whispered about before, but according to the Times, Markowitz has $48 million in his capital budget, $10 million in city funds lined up, and a deal with a private developer, iStar Financial.
It’s not a done deal yet, though, and the quest for a new theater in Coney has been stymied once before. One detail in the Times report suggests where opposition to this plan might come from: “The theater would also occupy an adjoining lot that has been used as an unauthorized community garden.” And the last we heard from Childs, it was being used as a warehouse for Occupy Sandy. Well, if protests follow Markowitz’s announcement, at least the weather will be nice.
