Plea for the People’s Playground
Lawmaker renews calls for amusement park reopening guidelines
Been Told You Have to “Live with the Pain?”
COURIER LIFE, JANUARY 22-28, 2021 3
BY ROSE ADAMS
A southern Brooklyn lawmaker
is demanding that the
state issue reopening guidelines
for the Coney Island
amusement parks, whose yearlong
closure has dealt a tough
blow to the local economy.
“It is imperative that the
State issue guidance and protocols
immediately on how to
safely reopen outdoor amusements
for the 2021 season,
which would begin on Palm
Sunday, March 28, less than
three months from today,”
wrote Councilman Mark
Treyger in a Jan. 13 letter to
Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Outdoor amusement parks
across the state have remained
closed since the start of the
pandemic — even as some
indoor amusements, such
as bowling alleys and some
movie theaters, were allowed
to reopen last summer.
The closures devastated
Coney Island’s already precarious
economy, causing an estimated
$100 million loss in revenue
and nixing 2,000 seasonal
jobs, according to Alexandra
Silversmith, the director of the
economic development group
the Coney Island Alliance. If
the closures continue through
2021, the area may not be able
to recover, Silversmith said.
“If they’re not allowed to
open, I don’t know what the future
would hold if we lose another
season in Coney Island,”
she said. “It’s a scary thought
at this point.”
By issuing reopening guidelines
now, the state would give
hope to businesses across the
People’s Playground and allow
the amusement district ample
time to prepare for opening
day, park owners said. Luna
Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel
Amusement Park typically open
on Palm Sunday in late March,
and each park needs about one
month to hire workers and get
the rides up to snuff.
“Reopening guidelines
would be a huge milestone for
us,” said Alessandro Zamperla,
who runs Luna Park with his
wife, Tracee. “We could really
have something concrete, and
we can say, ‘Okay, these are
the parameters that would allow
us to operate.'”
In addition to the guidelines,
Treyger asked the state to grant
fi nancial relief to the struggling
parks — which have received no
state funding for the entirety of
the pandemic, despite their repeated
calls for aid.
For example, the state could
pass legislation that would require
insurance companies to
pay out business interruption
insurance, the pol argued. Insurance
companies have refused
to pay out for COVID-19
closures, leaving companies
like Luna Park in the dust,
Zamperla said.
“At the moment we haven’t
been able to meet or process
claims, so that would be very
helpful,” he explained.
The state must also allow
businesses with more than
100 employees to be eligible for
funding while prioritizing giving
state grants to businesses
that have been closed the longest
and crafting a relief and
recovery plan specifi cally for
southern Brooklyn, Treyger
wrote in his letter. “The future
of the Coney Island amusement
district remains uncertain
until emergency assistance
is provided,” he said.
Despite the need for aid,
the parks’ owners remained
optimistic that they’ll make it
through the upcoming season.
“We’re ready to submit our
applications for our additional
PPP funding, and we’re waiting
on answers for other loans
to come through,” said Dennis
Vourderis, who runs Deno’s
Wonder Wheel Amusement
Park. “We are positive and
hopeful that we’ll be able to
come out above water.”
Both parks will debut exciting
new rides when they’re
allowed to open. Both owners
also said they have been in
touch regularly with the governor’s
offi ce, and hope to see
some reopening guidelines issued
soon.
“The governor’s offi ce had
been responsive. They’ve been
great, and we remain hopeful
and optimistic that we’ll
be able to open this summer,”
Vourderis said.
Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel. File photo by Todd Maisel
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