Massive apartment complex
slated for Gargiulo’s parking lot
BY ROSE ADAMS
A massive apartment complex
is coming to the parking
lot of Gargiulo’s Restaurant,
becoming the latest of many
towers to rise up in the district.
The Surf Avenue building,
whose two towers will reach
16 stories and 26 stories high,
will house 322 market-rate
apartments and 139 affordable
units, developer LCOR said.
The building will span the
block between W. 15th and W.
16th streets, and will contain
one and two-bedroom units,
according to LCOR spokesman
Sam Goldstein. Goldstein
did not say how much the
apartments will lease for.
The glitzy complex, which
will be fi nished around 2024,
will also feature an outdoor
pool, a gym, a parking lot, an
indoor basketball and handball
court, and multiple tenant
lounges, LCOR said.
The ground fl oor of the
complex will have 11,000
square feet of retail space,
which will likely house “key
services” or “entertainment,”
Goldstein said.
The building’s announcement
comes nearly a year after
LCOR signed a 99-year lease
agreement with the Gargiulo’s
owners to build the apartment
tower on the parking lot,
which spans almost the whole
block between Surf and Mermaid
Claire Friedlander Family Foundation supports ‘Your Voice, Your Viewpoint’ campaign
COURIER L 16 IFE, DECEMBER 11-17, 2020
avenues, Brooklyn Paper
fi rst reported.
LCOR will pay the Russo
family, which has operated
the beloved Coney Island restaurant
since 1965, about $100
million over the course of the
deal, according to The Real
Deal.
An LCOR executive said
the company decided to expand
to Coney Island because
of increasing demand for
beachfront property.
“We believe that the combination
of relative value, accessibility,
ocean views, and
beachfront living will be
highly desirable and attract
tenants from all over NYC,”
LCOR’s Senior Vice President
Anthony Tortora said. “We
are seeing more and more tenants
who are interested in an
urban-suburban experience.”
The fi rm isn’t the only developer
to fl ock to the People’s
Playground. Over the
last several years, high-rise
apartments have sprouted up
across the neighborhood, including
John Catsimatidis’ 22-
story Ocean Drive complex on
W. 35th Street and a 40-story
tower under construction on
Neptune Avenue.
Developers are permitted
to build enormous towers because
of Coney Island’s 2009
city-led rezoning, which aimed
to revive the district that was
in economic decline.
One of Gargiulo’s owners
said the new complex will suit
the area well.
“Our family is happy to
welcome LCOR to Coney Island,”
said Michael Russo.
“LCOR is incorporating the
best features of classic Coney
Island with modern facilities
that meet the needs of a fulltime
population.”
Gargiulo’s will remain
open throughout construction
and after the towers are built,
according to LCOR.
GOING UP: A block-long apartment complex across from Gargiulo’s Restaurant
on W. 15th Street will reach 26 stories high. LCOR
In response to this summer’s
Black Lives Matter protests and
demonstrations, Schneps Media,
under Co-Publisher Victoria Schneps
launched a campaign to put a voice
to uncover systemic racism which
exists for the Black and brown
population in New York City.
Schneps Media’s “Your Voice, Your
Viewpoint” campaign invited students
ranging from eighth grade through
college to submit essays, poems,
videos and TikToks on the topic.
Peter Klein, president of the Claire
Friedlander Foundation, awarded a
$15,000 grant to Queensborough
Community College to help encourage
students to submit their stories.
Klein, who is also the Chief Investment
(Melville, NY) and author of two books
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Charitable Foundation, 2012), said he
felt compelled to help launch the “Your
Voice, Your Viewpoint” campaign.
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career, I understand the impact,
influence, and importance of the
written word,” Klein said.
For many years, Klein served as an
investment advisor for the late Claire
Friedlander, a Holocaust survivor who
immigrated to New York and became
blessed with wealth. She established
the foundation and asked Klein to
advocate for her beliefs.
“Civil rights, human rights,
eliminating intolerance, prejudice,
racism, bias, and stereotyping were
important issues to Claire,” Klein
said. “She inspired people, especially
students, to stand up, speak out,
engaging in freedom of expression –
rights taken away from many during
the Holocaust.”
Klein said he believes that the
Claire Friedlander Foundation’s
partnership with Schneps Media and
Queensborough Community College
for the “Your Voice, Your Viewpoint”
campaign can “energize citizens to
become drivers of positive social
change in their communities.”
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a vital college campus which can
attract students and a prominent
media platform which can spread
communication and dialogue on
these issues,” Klein added.
Peter Klein
The winning entries were selected
by a panel of Queensborough
Community College students, with
a $500 prize given to each winner.
The winners of the “Your Voice, Your Viewpoint” campaign are:
Grand Prize
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Grand Prize
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Central Park East High School
Runner Up
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Runner Up
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Panel’s Honorable Mention
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Video Submission (“The Invisible Man”)
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