The Journal News from White Plains, New York • Page 69

H2 THE JOURNAL-NEWS, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1990 CONEY, page H1 "The city had this vision that they would round up a lot of low income people from the city and bring them out to Coney Island, to this paradise," says developer Bullard, "and that once here all of their problems would be over because they'd be in paradise." Tall, boxy buildings sprang up, piercing Coney Island's village skyline like a dagger. Whites fled. Stores closed. The vacation trade died, nearly taking the entire community with it. When the urban renewal projects began, Mermaid Avenue was a thriving business center with over 400 retail stores; today, there are 39.

Coney Island was, says Ann Weis-brod, vice president of the city's Public Development "the victim of government good intentions." There was a waiting line to get in to the balconied buildings, with their bird's eye view of the Atlantic. For those rejected by the projects the remaining abandoned bungalows beckoned. Drug addicts, the homeless, gangs moved in and stayed until they literally burned themselves out. "It was a city on fire," says Bullard. "It was a catastrophe out here." But, he says, that's all in the past.

"Everywhere you turn in Coney Island you see development going on. If you knew Coney Island before and saw it today, you'd realize the changes that have taken place," Bullard says. "And it's only going to get better now." Still ahead are a slate of city projects aimed at brightening the playland's tarnished image. The Please see CONEY, H3 can or piece of paper was seen on a stretch of the 500-foot-deep silvery, sand beach; instead it was filled with striped beach blankets, neon-colored umbrellas and families. And with dozens of Parks police and a beefed-up local police presence, drug-induced crime that nearly destroyed the area in the 1970s, is ebbing.

"I'm not deluding myself," Eisen-berg says, "there are still problems, but they are the same problems every neighborhood in this city is facing." In the early 1980s, the city and a private foundation began knocking down rows of abandoned and burned out bungalows that housed gangs, drug addicts and the homeless throughout the 70s. They were replaced with affordable single-family homes snatched up by young, working, middle-class families. Today, Coney Island a community that seesawed drastically from Italian and Jewish to a welfare-assisted black and Hispanic area is a potpourri of races. "Come down to Kaiser Park on the weekend and you'll see blacks, whites, yellows, pinks, you name it, all with their grills, all together," says Eisenberg. "To me it's an unwritten message that we can live together, we can play together." Play was always what Coney Island was about.

It gained notoriety during the days of Diamond Jim Brady and Lillian Russell. Gamblers and gangsters, chorus and call girls traveled regularly to dine, wine and play under the carnival lights of Dreamland, Luna and Steeplechase Parks. Dreamland burned down in 1911; Luna Park suffered the same fate in '39. Today, the New York Aquarium stands where Dreamland once mesmerized crowds. Luna Park with its trademark half-moon cutouts and popular Shoot the Shoots water ride is a co-op housing complex.

But until Luna's demise, amusement was king at Coney. "Al Capone was a bouncer at a local cabaret here; Eddie Cantor was a singing waiter who worked for $3 a night and Cary Grant then only Archibald Leach was a stilt walker for Steeplechase," says Matt Kennedy, an 86-year-old George Burns look-a-like who runs the local chamber of commerce. Even after Luna Park burned down, Coney Island remained popular thanks to its accessibility by a nickel subway ride, the hair-raising Cyclone and Steeplechase owner George C. Tilyou's monument to fun: the glass-enclosed Crystal Pavilion. Steeplechase also offered mechanical horse races and near heart-stopping drops from the Parachute Jump.

The 1950s and tv brought slow times to America's original unland. "On Tuesday night Uncle Miltie night the park was empty," says Milt Berger, a public relations man who once worked for Steeplechase and now represents Astroland, Coney Island's only multi-ride park. And things got worse. When Steeplechase owner Frank Tilyou died in 1964, the heirs wrangled about Steeplechase's operation until, Berger says, "for peace and harmony's sake" they sold it. The buyer was developer Fred Trump, The Associated Press Riders on the Coney Island parachute jump ride hover over a throng in the resort's prime in 1940.

father of Donald. "He wanted to put ing variance he needed to construct parcel. About the same time, the city up some big seaside condo devel- residential housing in an area zoned condemned blocks of red-brick bun- opment," Berger said. for amusement. The '60s rolled by galows once used as summer homes.

rw the navilion of andSteeplechase sat vacant. With the 70s came plans to build public housing projects to bring new The city condemned it in 1969; after a court battle Trump reported- ly received $4 million for the 12-acre fin, 214-21 47th Bayside, N.Y. for a reported $240,000. ORANGETOWN Cornelia G. Mahan has sold property at 294 North Greenbush Road, Blauvelt, to Chesley Leber, Bradley Parkway, Blauvelt, for a reported $233,000.

William and Ruth Littles, 92 Turner Road, Pearl River, has sold property at 90 Hunt Pearl River, to Michael and Diane Berq-quist, The Manors Route 202, Pomona, for a reported $176,000. Samuel and Marion Hartstein have sold property at 276 South Upper Nyack, to John and Rita Borst, 696 Sierra Vista Lane, Valley Cottage, for a reported $234,500. Robert and Janet Niklaus, 6250 Tuckerman Lane, Colorado Springs, have sold property at 14 Lawrence Nyack, to Nihal and Sukhminder Sandhu, 229 Strawtown Road, West Nyack, for a reported $175,000. Prosper and Algalita Durandisse have sold property at 151 Cedar and with it the end of a legend. iL.

'j i a But Trump couldn't get the build- Road, have sold property at 104 Waters Edge, Congers, to Paquale and Letizia Lisa, 104 Waters Edge, Congers, for a reported $270,000. Jeffrey Seibold, RR2 Box 523, Campbell Hall, N.Y., has sold property at 320 Old Route 304, New City, to Jeffrey Pearson and Amy Chaplin, 318 Old Route 304, New City, for a reported $145,000. Carmine Cafaro and Marilyn Keenan have sold property at 35 Demarest West Nyack, to Joseph A. Franco, 15 Tallman West Nyack, for a reported $92,200. Lesa Management, 14 Ronald Drive, Monsey, have sold property at 16 Lowerre Place, to James and Dorothy Palazzo, 15 Fletcher Road, Monsey, for a reported $215,000.

Mazel Karkah 14 Ronald Drive, Monsey, has sold property at 16 Lowerre Place, to Lesa Management, 14 Ronald Drive, Monsey, for a reported $107,000. Douglas Twitchell and Mary La-Marca have sold property at 14 Palmer Nanuet, to Ive and Ljiljan Peros, 4966 Broadway, New York, N.Y., for a reported $200,000. Arthur and Nancy Lebo have sold property at 15 Moreland Road, New City, to John and Felice Grif- HOUSING SALES RECENT TRANSACTIONS IN RAMAPO The County of Rockland, 18 New Hempstead Road, New City, has sold property at 151 North Pascack Road, to Daniel Roberson, 151 North Pascack, Road, Spring Valley, for a reported $11,822. Margaret Dixon, Cross River Road, South Salem, N.Y., has sold property at 1 Menocker Road, Chestnut Ridge, to Matthewand Patricia Hetsko Owens, 345 E. 36th Paterson, N.J., for a reported $226,000.

James and Gayle Briggs have sold property at 23 Baylor Road, Spring Valley, to Hyman Shuster, 96 Summit Tappan, for a reported $185,000. Harry and Kathleen Cokeley, have sold property at 11 Brookview Chestnut Ridge, to Yoshihiro Yamazaki, 523 South Pascack Road, Spring Valley, for a reported $165,000. Vyto Atkatsh has sold property at 2 Jacqueline Road, Chestnut Ridge, to Douglas and Theresa Tho-nus and Gregg Piatt, 317 Acker-town Road, Chestnut Ridge, for a reported $163,000. Eli Stern, 7 Fox Hill Road, Spring Valley, has sold property at 3 Elber Court, Ramapo, to Toth and ROCKLAND 222 Route 59, Suffern, for a reported $130,000. Marvin and Vivian Rosenfeld have sold property at 24 Madison HillRoad, Suffern, to Laurence and Laura Stonge, 6 Francis Nyack, for a reported $165,000.

Carolyn B. Beckmann, 385 Hamilton Road, Ridgewood, N.J., have sold property at 42 Milford Lane, Suffern, to Paul and Annama-rie Franke, 220 Main Glen Rock, N.J., for a reported $138,000. Harry and Marianne Bloomfeld, 16 Strathmore Drive, Spring Valley, have sold property at Bon Aire Condominium II, Suffern, to Josephine Plagianos, 67 Berkley Square, Suffern, for a reported $106,000. CLARK STO WN Sarah H. May has sold property at 310 Fulle Drive, Valley Cottage, to John and Marion Haggarty, 796 Brookridge Drive, Valley Cottage, for a reported $177,000.

Bernard and Iris Peter have sold property at 2 Hedgerow Lane, Spring Valley, to Maureen Johnson, 506 Maplewood Gardens, Spring Valley, for a reported $165,000. Charles and Joan Klarc and Edith Langano, 135 West Nyack ALSO AVAILABLE: GHISTAIS: life into the sagging community. But the planning went no further. Hill South Nyack, to Marie Roche and Prosper Durandisse, 152 Depew Nyack, for a reported $135,000. HAVERSTRAW Fairgrounds, 77 Maple New City, has sold property at H3 Zugibe Court, West Havers-traw, Frank Carrotti, 9 Overlook Road, West Havestraw, for a reported $122,400.

William and Paula Callahan have sold property at 150 Coolidge Haverstraw, to Michael Ludwig and Colleen Bailey, 258 Westside Haverstraw, for a reported $138,000. Fairgrounds, 77 Maple New City, has sold property at 39 Zugibe Court, West Haverstraw, to Thomas and Karyn Mulligan, 294 Parkside Drive, Suffern, for a reported $119,800. Fairgrounds, 77 Maple New City, has sold property at 41 Zugibe Court, West Haverstraw, to Christopher Holland and Theresa Bellon, 32 Brownsell West Haverstraw, for a reported $124,900. sold and YOUR KEYS TO OWNERSHIP AT HUNTER'S GLEN. Open daily 1 1 to 6, or by appt.

1 5 Yr. Fixed 80 no income check Co-op Loans Jumbo Mortgages to 20 Million No points mortgages 75 day rate locks No asset check Investment Properties 2nd mortgages Manny and Leelama Abraham have sold property at 59 Roosevelt Drive, West Haverstraw, to Jose and Ruth Melendez, 352 Beekman Bronx, for a reported $128,000. STONY POINT James and Brenda Luther have sold property at 38 Filors Lane, to James and Christine McLaughlin, 137 Meagher Bronx, for a reported $157,000. Thomas and Kathy Dapolito have sold property at 2 Stubbs Drive, fo Manny and Lee Abraham, 2 Stubbs Drive, Stony Point, for a reported $215,000. Carlton Construction 20 Squadron Room 270 New City, has sold propety at 5 Mohawk Court, to Dominick and Elizabeth Ferrara, 1 Skerry Court Stony Point, for a reported $334,885.

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