Consultant team is selected to transform Coney Island.

The team of Ernst & Young LLP and Davis Brody Bond LLP have been selected to create a strategic development plan for Brooklyn's Coney Island neighborhood.

The announcement was made last week by Joshua J. Sirefman, President of the Coney Island Development Corporation.

In developing the plan, the consultants will devise a strategy for implementing short and long term improvements to the Coney Island community that include physical and economic changes. The plan will build on the existing business base, develop vacant property and market the area for a variety of year-round uses. Specifically, Ernst & Young will complete a real estate development analysis for the Coney Island community and formulate a design concept and vision for revitalizing the area. Development of the plan will include extensive community outreach. CIDC will assist the consultants in those efforts.

The consultant team was selected as a result of a Request for Proposals issued by EDC on behalf of CIDC last month.

The strategic plan developed by E&Y/DBD will also identify development opportunities; recommend area-wide physical improvements; and craft an implementation strategy for the plan. It is expected that development of the strategic plan will take about six months.

Other members of the E&Y/DBB team include Halcyon Ltd, retail specialists; Vollmer Associates LLP, engineering and landscape architects; Karin Bacon Events, public space programming; Streetworks, retail developers; and Strategic Leisure, entertainment production development.