John Catsimatidis’s Coney Island development will have its own trolley

Some buildings come with fitness centers. Swimming pools. Pet spas. “Jam rooms.” Rooftop gardening lessons with the chefs from Brooklyn’s backyard-to-table restaurant Olmsted. Parties with Rookie founder Tavi Gevinson.

Just when it seems that New York may be all perked out—there are buildings with yacht rentals, what more do you want?—John Catsimatidis, real estate developer/grocery tycoon/one-time mayoral candidate and all-time visionary has announced plans to pave new ground, according to the Coney Island News. (h/t The Real Deal) His latest development is going to include its very own trolley.

The plan, which Catsimatidis says is still “in the early stages,” would have a trolley car transport residents from their home at Red Apple Group’s multi-use Ocean Dreams development at 3514 Surf Avenue to the Stillwell Avenue subway station in Coney Island.

And not just residents, Catsimatidis has said: the San Francisco style trolley—to be called, appropriately, the Coney Island Trolley—will be available to all Coney Islanders, whether or not they live in the 440 market rate units at Ocean Dreams, though it is not yet clear how much a ride will cost.

Initially, the plan was to instate a bus service to shuttle residents to the far-away subway stop, until Catsimatidis got the idea for “something even better.”

Not all locals are thrilled at the announcement, however, expressing concerns about whether the trolley plan would interfere with the existing B36 bus service, which currently transports residents to the station, albeit slowly.

The development, which will also house a supermarket, a drug store, and a restaurant on the boardwalk, is expected to open in 2019.

• Exclusive: Billionaire developer planning ‘Coney Island Trolley’ service [Coney Island News]
• Top this amenity: Coney Island project will have its own street car, Catsimatidis says [The Real Deal]
• John Catsimatidis files plans for huge mixed-use development in Coney Island [Curbed NY]