Coney Island having its own economic boom

DeShaun Torres' frustrating job search earlier this year took him to warehouses and fast-food restaurants where, again and again, he was told there were no openings.

The 27-year-old's luck changed in June when he learned on Facebook of job opportunities in Coney Island. Now, Torres said, he mans the "Saturn 6" ride for 12th Street Amusements, working as many as 60 hours a week.

"They really try to accommodate their workers," Torres, of the Lower East Side, said Thursday, gesturing toward the umbrella his bosses provided him to ward off the sun. "I'm more than set for the summer."

Torres' story is echoed throughout Coney Island. A report from the office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli last week showed the southern Brooklyn stretch is enjoying an economic boom while other corners of the city struggle.

The greater Coney Island area, which includes part of Brighton Beach, gained more than 1,840 private-sector jobs last year, a 7.1 percent increase compared to the 0.9 citywide increase, the report said. The area has recovered 60 percent of jobs lost during the recession, with the health-care sector accounting for most of the new opportunities, the report said.

Community leaders, however, cited amusement attractions such as Luna Park, which opened in May 2010; Scream Zone, which opened in April; and the New York Aquarium, which is undergoing a $100-million renovation, as other job generators.

"When new elements started to come to Coney Island, everyone sat down together to address the jobs situation," said Chuck Reichenthal, district manager of Community Board 13. The Coney Island Development Corp. held three job-screening events in March to get local residents hired for the summer season. The group has been hosting community job fairs and job-readiness workshops since 2008.

"When you're in the middle of a recession, it becomes more obvious that if you don't come together, it'll be a jumble," he said. "It was busy and difficult, but ultimately it was gratifying."

Dick Zigun, founder of the Coney Island Circus Sideshow and the unofficial "mayor" of Coney Island, said he sees construction workers and cement trucks daily as proof of the rapid redevelopment. "Yes, indeed, in Coney Island -- unlike the rest of the country -- there is an economic stimulus that's working," he said. "I see a healthy growth spurt here."

The neighborhood is also benefiting from population, housing and wage growth.

Eric Sumberg, a DiNapoli spokesman, called the changes a renaissance. The population has grown 7.1 percent since 2006 (compared to 2.2 percent citywide growth), and almost half of the 111,063 residents are foreign-born (above the city's 35.6 percent average), according to the comptroller's report.

Housing units increased by 5.2 percent compared to 3.6 percent citywide, and after a decline in 2009, total private-sector wages last year rebounded 8.5 percent, the report said.

Torres makes $8 an hour, but seemed cheered that his employers would increase his wages if he returned next summer. "They're fair. They definitely do what they can. "These jobs are keeping kids out of trouble."