NYC NOW - Evening Roundup: Gillibrand Condemns Trump’s Plan to Close Social Security Offices, NYC’s Outdoor Dining Program and the Fight Against a Casino Developer on Coney Island

Episode Date: March 28, 2025

In White Plains, the federal government is ending its lease on a social security office, calling it a cost-saving measure. Plus, outdoor dining kicks off next month but many restaurants won’t be participating. And finally, some locals fear a plan to build a casino and entertainment complex on Coney Island puts much of its history and the neighborhood's quirky charm at risk.

A U.S. Senator for New York condemns Trump's plan to close social security offices, New York City's outdoor dining program, and the fight against a casino developer on Coney Island. From WMYC, this is NYC Now. I'm Jenae Pierre. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is calling out the Trump administration for its planned closures of social security offices, including one in her hometown of Albany, the Leo O'Brien Federal. building was put on a list of properties for sale, then quickly taken off. Meanwhile, in White Plains, the government is ending its lease on a separate office, saying it's a cost-saving measure. Gillibrand says the cuts are hurting people who need benefits. With fewer staff to process claims,

skyrocketing wait times, and systems in disarray, the Social Security Administration could effectively deny thousands of eligible beneficiaries the money that they've earned. The acting head of the Social Security Administration says the agency remains, quote, committed to providing service where people need help. Outdoor dining season is almost upon us. Sidewalk seating is allowed year-round under the city's new program, but roadway setups, those dining sheds that sit in the street, they're only allowed from April through November. The City Department of Transportation administers the new program. This week, it released a list of about 2,500 cafes, bars, and restaurants. that are allowed to operate outside this year.

Now, that's a big drop from the pandemic era program, where everyone could basically do whatever they wanted for free. That's WMYC's Ryan Kylath. During the pandemic years in any given month, DOT estimates there were about 6,000 establishments operating outside. So this is a drop of more than half. And that's a pretty big deal. Ryan says outdoor dining is a special amenity.

But the more it costs, the less likely restaurants are to offer it. So the pandemic program was free. So we saw a million sheds bloom. The new program costs thousands of dollars, like from one-time application fees, over a thousand ongoing fees per square foot, over a thousand. Restaurants hire lawyers and expediters to help navigate all the permitting. And of course, if you want the seasonal sheds, the roadway sheds, you got to build them every spring and take them down every fall and store them over winter. Costs are well into the five figures. and lots of places just can't afford it.

Aside from the program being expensive, some restaurant owners have found it difficult to understand the rules and regulations of outdoor dining. Ryan heard from a couple owners who say the program's rollout hasn't been easy to navigate. So there's been lots of finger pointing about this sort of botched program. Comptroller Brad Lander, who does the final approval

of the many steps. He's pointing fingers at DOT for botching it. DOT points the finger at City Council saying you made a complicated burdensome law. Community boards are mad because outdoor dining is sucking up all their time. Restaurants are grumbling at community boards saying you're slowing us down. There's no real talk of changing the process yet, but I think this season is going to give all sides plenty of ammunition to talk about changing the program on the future. That's WMYC's Ryan Kylath.

Visit our website Gothamist for Ryan's map showing restaurants that offer outdoor dining and zoom around to your neighborhood. Spoiler alert, the hotspots with Lvon. Lots of them include Prime Manhattan in Brooklyn. There's a fight on Coney Island over a plan to build a casino and entertainment complex there. More on that after the break. Coney Island has been a long-time mainstay of American pop culture. I swear, I was brought up underneath the roller coaster in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. You know, if you're not careful, you're going to wind up owning Coney Island.

I intend to. We were just at that big meeting up in the Bronx. We're going home to Coney. The Southern Brooklyn nation. neighborhood has been the setting for countless books, TV shows, and movies, including this year's Best Picture Oscar winner, Anora. But some locals fear a plan to build a casino and entertainment complex on Coney Island puts much of that history and the neighborhood's quirky charm at risk.

WMYC's Arun Vanagapal reports the casino plan is receiving a mixed reception there. As a kid, Adam Rinn grew up on Coney Island and was enamored by the inherent weirdness of his neighborhood. So he took a class in sword-swallowing. It's a lot of wretching and a lot of gagging. But eventually, again, like anything else, you convince yourself that you can do it. He learned to spit fire, walk on glass, hammer nails into his nose. He became a professional strongman. Today, he's the artistic director of Coney Island USA. It's the nonprofit behind the Coney Island Museum, the Coney Island side show, and the annual mermaid parade. Rinn says he worries about the future, of his organization and everything it represents.

If this casino gets the approval, if they break ground, Coney Island USA will likely cease to exist. The casino project is known as the Coney and is one of 11 projects competing for a casino license from the state government. The Coney would include a hotel, convention center, and lots of retail space, 1.3 million square feet in all. Dan Kaplan is a senior partner for the architectural firm FX Collaborative. He presented the project at a public hearing on behalf of the company and a consortium of groups. He said the casino would serve as an antidote to Coney Island's seasonal economy

built around the beach and nearby amusement parks. The Coney Project will transform the area into a vibrant year-round destination, The median household income in Coney Island and neighboring Brighton Beach is $42,000. That's well below Brooklyn's borough-wide average of $69,000. So the appeal of thousands of potential jobs in construction and hospitality resonated with some members of the public at the hearing, including Derek Lateef Scott. He's an outreach worker in the community. We told my poverty-stricken areas, these young sisters and adults alike, they need jobs. On a recent afternoon, the Coney Island beach was all but empty.

There were more seagulls than humans. Kenneth Martinez is a long-time resident of the area. He says back in the day, Coney Island was an entirely different place. There was like non-stop people at any time. You can be 3 o'clock in the morning, people out. You know what I mean? Now it's deserted. It's like it's ghostland.

You see it yourself. It's ghostland. Coney Island has a rich history as a summer resort, going back two centuries. It reached its peak in the 1920s with the completion of the train terminal on Stillwall Avenue, the Regalman Boardwalk, and in 1927, the Cyclone roller coaster. Hey, let's take a ride, cyclone ride. All right, big ride. Come in, see that five-year-old mother, I gave weight to a six-pound baby boy.

You all ready to have. After the Second World War, the area fell on hard times. thousands of homes were condemned and demolished under controversial urban renewal efforts. In the 2000s, there were hints of revitalization, with the completion of a minor league ballpark and investment in Coney Island's beloved amusement parks. All this history is deeply personal to Marissa Solomon. There are a million casinos in a million places. There's only one Coney Island.

Solomon's a 57-year-old local, who serves as a guide at the Coney Island Museum. Her great-grandmother sold candy apples on the boardwalk. This is where the first amusement park opened. Walt Disney World, Six Flags Great Adventure, Las Vegas. Solomon says all were modeled in different ways after Coney Island. If the casino project is built, she says its towers would wall off the wonder wheel, eliminating the 360-degree views that writers have enjoyed since 1920. The project would also envelop the building that houses the museum in Coney Island, USA.

quite possibly making the organization shut down. As a cautionary tale, she points to Atlantic City. When the casinos came, yeah, they brought casino jobs, all the other jobs disappeared. All the grocery stores closed, the dry cleaners. If you go to Atlantic City today, they don't even have their own supermarket. Critics of the project have a petition opposing the Kony. So far, they've collected 8,400 signatures. Adam Rinn, the sword-swallowing artistic director of Kony Island USA, says it's not just buildings, he hopes,

to save, but the spirit of Coney Island. It really was and always will be home to the outsiders, to the freaks, the people that don't necessarily fit in anywhere. And that is something that both this neighborhood and the city can't afford to lose. The city planning commission is set to vote on the Coney Island project later this spring, after which it will be reviewed by the city council. The state's gaming facility location board is expected to award three downstate casino licenses by the end of this year. That's WMYC's Aroom Vannegapal.

Before we go, be on the lookout for another bonus episode this Saturday. It's part two in our series on New York City Mayor Eric Adams and how he has found himself at the mercy of intersecting political powers. This week, NYC now explains why Governor Kathy Hokel kept Mayor Adams in power. Listen to find out why and what it says about her leadership. That'll drop in your feed Saturday morning. Give it a listen as you enjoyed the beautiful spring weather. And if you missed episode one last Saturday, check that out too. You may have to do some digging through our feed, but it's there.

Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Have a lovely weekend.