Grassroots activist group Save Coney Island today congratulated the Bloomberg administration on finding an amusement operator for Coney Island ahead of the summer season.

NY1 reported today that the city has selected ride manufacturer Zamperla USA as Coney Island’s new amusement park operator. Other companies, including Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Steel Pier, had also applied to operate amusements in Coney Island, NY1 reported.

Save Coney Island noted that the intense interest among amusement operators proves that the City did not reserve sufficient land in its rezoning of Coney Island for open-air amusements.

“We congratulate the Bloomberg administration for attracting so many proposals from amusement operators who want to be a part of Coney Island’s future,” said Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero. “But the strong interest from amusement operators demonstrates that the recent rezoning did not leave enough land for the rides and other outdoor amusements that should be the centerpiece of a revitalized Coney Island.

“Coney Island is synonymous with amusements,” Rivero continued. “But if it is to revive its reputation as the ‘Playground of the World,’ Coney Island needs far more room for rides than the City’s flawed rezoning plan anticipated.”