Coney Island Shed Floated

Officials in Brooklyn, N.Y., are discussing the possibility of turning a bandshell at Coney Island’s Asser Levy-Seaside Park into a 5,000-seat, $35 million amphitheatre.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz told the city’s Bay News the plan is for a state-of-the-art, covered outdoor shed to attract major acts in the summer that usually play either the Nikon At Jones Beach Theatre, North Fork Theatre at Westbury or New Jersey’s PNC Bank Arts Center.

The park holds summer concert series each summer that draw upwards of 5,000 fans, Community Board 13 Manager Chuck Reichenthal told the Bay News.

"Soon, when we want to see the best concerts, we won’t have to go to Long Island, or New Jersey or even Manhattan – we can enjoy them right here in Brooklyn," Markowitz said.

Markowitz revealed the plan during his state of the Borough address earlier this month. His timing might be right, considering that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already dropped $83 million to help clean up the aging Coney Island Boardwalk, according to the Brooklyn Paper, which is near Asser Levy-Season Park.

The project is in the planning stage right now and has some hurdles to climb, and Reichenthal told the Brooklyn Paper that some are concerned about park space and noise.