The $64 Million Question

If critics balked at the $64 million price tag for a new amphitheatre at Coney Island in New York City, they certainly won’t be happy with the news that the figure doesn’t cover much of the project.

Brooklyn Burough President Marty Markowitz has been pushing to get an 8,000-capacity amphitheatre built near the famed NYC amusement park, and his office has allocated $10 million to the project. However, the $64 million covers only the amphitheatre and not the accompanying skate park and ice skating rink at the new “Coney Island Center,” according to the New York Post, which examined plans from Grimshaw Architects.

“They are going to turn operation of the amphitheatre over to a private promoter, such as Live Nation, which will charge people for events,” amphitheatre critic Ida Sanoff told the paper. “This is what we have been saying from the very beginning: People will have to pay for most recreational uses. You’re going to have to buy a ticket.”

Borough Hall Communications Director Laura Sinagra told the Post the concerns voiced by Sanoff will be addressed the same way all activities at Coney Island are addressed.

“It is a city park and will remain one, managed by the NYC Parks Department,” Sinagra said.