The newest Coney Island amusement park doesn’t open until April, but the names of its two coasters have already been revealed:
Beach weather is still several months away, but Coney Island is already preparing for the addition of its newest amusement park, to be called Scream Zone.
Scream Zone will open in April and include two roller coasters to be named Steeplechase Coaster and Soaring Eagle. They will be the first new coasters in Coney Island since the Cyclone opened in 1927.
“I can’t wait for it,” said Dick Zigun, who runs the Coney Island Museum and the Mermaid Parade. “It marks the real change from the old Coney Island to the new Coney Island.”
Coney Island’s developer Central Amusement International is opening a new amusement park this coming April, but the company has recently come under fire for evicting long-time Coney Island businesses like Shoot the Freak. WSJ’s Joseph De Avila reports.
Construction on the Scream Zone, located along the boardwalk between West 12th and 15th streets, will begin next week by Central Amusement International, a unit of ride maker and amusement-park operator Antonio Zamperla SpA of Italy.
The company has a 10-year lease with the city to operate Scream Zone and another amusement park, Luna Park, which opened last year on the former grounds of the Astroland amusement area.
The success of Luna Park, which drew 450,000 visitors in 2010, has been credited with helping Coney Island achieve its best attendance numbers in years.
While Luna Park offers family-friendly rides for young kids, Scream Zone intends “to push the envelope of the roller coaster experience in Coney Island,” said Valerio Ferrari, president of Central Amusement International.
The amusement-park operator is investing $12 million on the three-acre Scream Zone site, which is now vacant after being cleared of batting cages and a mini-golf course. Overall plans for the new park were announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year, but details about Scream Zone weren’t previously available.
Central Amusement International’s plans for a new Coney Island have drawn criticism in the past. In November, the company evicted many longtime tenants—including Shoot the Freak and Ruby’s Bar and Grill—to make room for new vendors. Some of the businesses are fighting the evictions; a court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16.
“We’re told that there’s a new ‘vision’ for Coney Island, but that vision was never shared with us,” said Linda Cronin-Gross, a spokeswoman for the group. “We will continue to fight to stay where we belong—right here on the Coney Island boardwalk.”
Mr. Ferrari declined to elaborate on his company’s plans for the boardwalk because of the court fight.
“The fact is that the boardwalk is going to be revitalized and revamped,” said Tom Corsillo, a spokesman with Central Amusement International. “It’s going to be a great experience.”
City Council member Domenic Recchia, whose district includes Coney Island, credited Central Amusement International for bringing jobs to the neighborhood and for attempting to create a year-round destination at Coney Island.
“They are looking for new ideas,” Mr. Recchia said. “You can’t have all the same thing.”
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