BY JILL D’AMICO

On Nov. 8, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the city’s ambitious plan to rezone Coney Island to create a “spectacular” year-round destination, complete with amusement park district, housing to the north and west, and an economic shot in the arm for the beachfront area, which many say hasn’t seen its heyday since the turn of the century.

The announcement came at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Brooklyn Business Luncheon, held, fittingly, at a Coney Island landmark – Gargiulo’s Restaurant.

The rezoning plan is underway, with a public meeting scheduled for tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Coney Island Hospital, 2601 Ocean Parkway. This will be followed by the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), set to begin next month and scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2009.