Diverse commercial corridors with thriving locally-owned businesses lead to prosperous and vibrant neighborhoods.
A coalition of community, labor, and housing organizations concerned with the future of Coney Island joined in support of Coney Island for All: A Platform for Equitable Development, on which Pratt Center served as a key advisor. The platform outlines measures to ensure that new development in the beloved seaside area helps meet the area's deep needs for good jobs, affordable housing, retail services, preservation, and expansion of the historic amusement area and other community benefits.
The platform calls for, among other measures, responsible contractor and wage standards; training and hiring opportunities for residents in the area, where unemployment is at 13 percent; a commitment to making at least half of all new housing affordable to low, moderate, and middle-income New Yorkers (with half of that in turn affordable to the typical Coney Island household); use of City-owned land for affordable housing; encouragement of small retail businesses and restrictions on chain stores; and investments in improving and expanding local infrastructure, including new schools and a full-service supermarket. Click here to read the full report.