However, by the 1960s Steeplechase Park was becoming unprofitable due to high crime, the growth of suburban getaways, and the area's general trend toward residential development.

[3][4][5] After noting that the nearby Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend and Brighton Beach horseracing tracks were very popular, Tilyou added other rides and attractions on the Coney Island peninsula.

[13] Attractions included novelties such as the Human Niagara, a Venetian gondola-style ride, the Aerial Racing Slide, the Double-Dip Chutes, the Bicycle Railway, a "French Voyage" panorama, and a Wild West sideshow.

[17] Tilyou adopted a "Funny Face" mascot depicting a smiling man with several dozen teeth, nicknamed "the Tilly", as the icon for his park.

The mascot, which became a symbol of Coney Island, represented the area's wholesomeness and neoclassical architecture combined with its veneer of hidden sexuality.

It spread quickly, destroying most of the wooden pavilions and hotels around Bowery Street; firefighters fought to save Tilyou's house at the corner of Steeplechase Park.

[43][42] Tilyou opened a hall with an indoor swimming pool to the west of the pavilion in 1911, at which point he declared that he wanted to add one new ride per week.

[47] The New York Supreme Court ruled in 1913 that the state government could take over a 633-by-126-foot (193 by 38 m) section of Steeplechase Park, along the Atlantic shoreline, to make way for the public beach.

[59] The boardwalk's completion and a subsequent widening of Surf Avenue in 1924 prompted Edward Tilyou to make additional improvements to Steeplechase Park.

In addition, patrons frequently received minor injuries such as friction burns, though some people were thrown or fell from rides, and one child died after falling off the Steeplechase Horses in 1935.

[79] Despite the park's popularity with New Yorkers, many factors after the end of World War II would eventually lead to its decline, including frequent fires, low patronage, and white flight.

[82] Moreover, after Edward Tilyou died in 1944,[83] control of the park was transferred to his siblings George Jr., Frank, Marie, and Eileen, who each owned a quarter share in the Steeplechase Corporation.

In practice, not many people bought the 15-ride pass, since various special-interest groups such as social, political, and religious organizations had designated days where they could visit Steeplechase Park for free.

[90] George Tilyou Jr. died in 1958,[91] and his sister Marie took over as Steeplechase Corporation president the next year, demoting James Onorato to general manager.

[43] New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses was a longtime critic of Coney Island, describing the beach as so crowded that bathers had less room than in a coffin.

Crime increases, insufficient parking facilities, bad weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom were cited as contributing factors in the decrease of visitors to Coney Island.

Nevertheless, it also faced problems of its own: a severe assault of an employee in 1961 forced the closure of the Insanitorium, while Marie Tilyou was opposed to her nephew Frank II's proposal to bring rides from the Century 21 Exposition to the park.

[113] On part of Steeplechase Park's site, Trump proposed building a 160-foot-high (49 m) enclosed dome with recreational facilities and a convention center, designed by Morris Lapidus.

[116] The Coney Island Chamber of Commerce submitted plans to Stark for a 12.5-acre (5.1 ha) resort on Steeplechase Park's site in December 1965.

As a condition of the deal, the sale or lease of the future parkland required permission from the New York State Legislature, thus blocking Trump from developing the site as apartments.

[127] The city also leased out the boardwalk and parking lot sites at extremely low rates, which resulted in a $1 million loss of revenue over the following seven years.

[127] Due to the city's inaction, in 1975, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development nearly withdrew a proposed grant of $2 million for the park.

[120] In early 1977, city officials again attempted to evict Kaufman and force him to pay back rent, but a state judge rejected these claims.

This move was opposed by the chairman of the New York City Planning Commission, who wanted to use the grant to pay for pedestrian walkways at the Steeplechase site.

[134] The New York City Council and the State Legislature also had to agree to lease some of the land to Bullard, but the legislative bodies did not give their approval until mid-1986.

[136] The city government gave final approval to Bullard's plans in 1989, at which point the park was supposed to cost $250 million and open in May 1992.

[137] Concurrently, in December 1986, the New York State Urban Development Corporation formally proposed the construction of a $58 million, 17,000-seat minor-league baseball stadium near the site.

[140] After Rudy Giuliani took office as mayor of New York in 1994, he negated the Bullard deal by approving the construction of a minor-league baseball stadium on the site allotted for Steeplechase Park.

[146] The city also announced that the historic B&B Carousell, which had been stored at the Brooklyn Army Terminal since 2005, would be relocated to Steeplechase Plaza within Luna Park.

[155] Three months later the New York City Board of Estimate overturned the landmark designation, citing doubts about the tower's structural integrity.