In 1976, Atlantic City (like Coney Island) was a formerly middle-class resort that had become a seaside wreck. The counterargument - and a really compelling one - lies 130 miles to the south.

Why not (goes the thinking) build in the taxable version of vice? This strip of land has spent more than a century as a place for titillation and acceptable sinning. It is a place where the most awesomely disgusting American event imaginable plays out every Fourth of July.

You went there, especially in the old days, to play arcade games you were unlikely to win, to watch a hot girl swallowing swords, to gorge yourself on Nathan’s hot dogs and sugary treats, to visit a wax museum devoted to horrible crime scenes, and to preen and ogle your fellow beachgoers. Most of all, Coney Island is historically a raffish place its very ethos is one of naughtiness and minor grift. Multiple subway lines terminate right by the amusement area, so although any new building will unavoidably bring in some traffic, it may not be so bad. Although the amusement area of Coney Island is no longer the ruin it once was, the neighborhood undeniably still needs energy and investment, and hotel-casino jobs are (mostly) unionized and pay decently. There’s a case to be made for this location. It will compete with plans for five other sites, including Times Square, Hudson Yards, and the area just south of the United Nations. It’s largely the work of Thor Equities, the developer that has been pushing a Coney Island overhaul for two decades and has partnered with Saratoga Casino Holdings and the Chickasaw Nation to run the casino and with Legends for the entertainment.

The website is dominated by talk of “revitalization” and “resiliency” and “economic opportunity” plus pictures of Coney Island’s remarkable past.

This one depicts a showy new tower just off the Coney Island boardwalk and will be called “the Coney.” Information is still scanty, but the images depict a casino hotel of 25 stories or so with a colorfully ribbed, swoopy exterior boxed in by Luna Park, the Cyclone, and the Wonder Wheel. Another day, another New York City casino rendering in the inbox.

Casino proper