Arts organizations should be leaders in engaging the community, but CSO purchased Coney Island and planned a $118 million dollar development in secret. They certainly didn’t engage the public on the plans. Even key stakeholders weren’t consulted. Anderson Township has made multi-million-dollar investments along Kellogg Avenue near Coney Island, in close consultation with stakeholders. CSO did even have the courtesy to notify them.
Opinion Editor Kevin Aldridge’s take: Coney Island’s Sunlite Pool isn’t Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s problem
CSO remained silent for weeks following public backlash and then emerged with misleading statements. They claimed the previous owners closed Coney Island. When CSO announced that it had purchased Coney in mid-December, Coney was still open. It was selling 2024 season passes, and it remained open until Dec. 31 for holiday light shows.
CSO claimed that they can’t save Sunlite Pool because, “they don’t know how to operate a pool. Nor does the symphony know anyone to ask who could operate a pool.” It is easy not to know when you don’t ask. Both Anderson Township and a community preservation group have expressed interest in acquiring the pool. There could be other buyers or operators, but CSO hasn’t looked for them.
The arts should preserve and enhance the richness of our community. Coney Island and Sunlite Pool are irreplaceable parts of our city’s history. Sunlite Pool is the only one of its kind in the world and served as an inspiration to Walt Disney. CSO is erasing a historic place and replacing it with a generic one − a venue that can be found in any city. They are turning a space where generations gathered to one for acts just passing through.
CSO replacing an affordable public space with an unaffordable one
The arts should bring people together. CSO is replacing an affordable public space with an unaffordable one; a family-friendly venue with one that has a much narrower demographic. Places like Coney Island are vital for fostering connections across generations. Their loss alters the social fabric of our community.
There have been arguments that Coney Island was unprofitable. We don’t know if that’s true. The records haven’t been released. We don’t know if it could be saved by better management or a public private partnership. And profitability isn’t the only factor. CSO is seeking tens of millions in donor funding and $20 million in taxpayer funding to convert Coney into a music venue. Couldn’t that funding be better spent preserving it?
Even worse, the destruction is senseless. CSO plans to let Riverbend sit empty next door to the new venue they’re building. Why not modernize Riverbend? Or replace it? Or find a plot of land not already taken by one of the city’s favorite attractions? Or one that’s not in a floodplain?
I for one won’t support the destruction of our heritage and our family-friendly places. I’ve written my state representatives and asked them to oppose spending our taxpayer money to destroy our public spaces. I won’t attend symphony performances. I’m writing to my favorite acts and asking them not to play venues owned by CSO, including Riverbend, PNC Pavilion, Taft Theatre and Ballroom, and the Andrew J. Brady Music Center. Finally, I’m sending my donations to arts organizations that stand with the community, not above it. I encourage you to do the same.
Katie Sweeney is a resident of Cincinnati and mother of two kids who love Sunlite Pool. She was born and raised in Anderson Township where she grew up going to Coney Island.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra erasing historic Coney Island