New York: Is a Coney Island casino a good idea?

Another day, another New York City casino rendering in the inbox. This one depicts a showy new tower just off the Coney Island boardwalk and will be called “the Coney.” Information is still scanty, but the images depict a casino hotel of 25 stories or so with a colorfully ribbed, swoopy exterior boxed in by Luna Park, the Cyclone, and the Wonder Wheel. The website is dominated by talk of “revitalization” and “resiliency” and “economic opportunity” plus pictures of Coney Island’s remarkable past. It’s largely the work of Thor Equities, the developer that has been pushing a Coney Island overhaul for two decades and has partnered with Saratoga Casino Holdings and the Chickasaw Nation to run the casino.