New York City will seize 75,000 square feet of beachfront property in Coney Island as part of an effort to spur long-delayed economic development in the area.

The eminent domain seizure would include a 60,000-square-foot property that once housed the original “Thunderbolt” wooden roller coaster, which was demolished in 2000. The move is expected to enable the city to make infrastructure improvements that would help bring new attractions the world-famous beachfront neighborhood.

It would also help the de Blasio administration move forward with thousands of units of affordable and market-rate housing that was approved through a 2009 area rezoning of the area, according to the New York Post. The city could obtain the properties within a year, given there are no legal challenges to the move by opponents.

But there has been little opposition to the plan, given that most of the property seized is owned by absentee landlords who have allowed their sites to fall into dereliction. [NYP] – Rey Mashayekhi

Source: City’s eminent domain play in Coney Island moving ahead