Coney Island’s Parachute Jump could display proposals and birthday messages

The Parachute Jump in Coney Island could someday light up with marriage proposals and birthday wishes. The city Parks Department is looking for a business to run and maintain the red tower, and it announced the search in a bulletin on Friday.

The same operator would also have to renovate the Cyclone, the wooden roller coaster that has drawn riders to Coney Island for almost 100 years. The Parachute Jump opened as an attraction at the 1939 World’s Fair. It has stood idle since 1964, the year Steeplechase Park shut down.

Personal messages on the Parachute Jump tower

Bidders can include ideas for making money from the Parachute Jump. One option is to show personal messages on the tower for proposals, birthdays and other occasions. Parks would have to approve every message. Obscene, indecent, profane or discriminatory messages would not be allowed, and neither would ads or other commercial wording.

The agency must sign off on almost every part of a proposal. Bidders can also suggest new rides, games or attractions if there is room. Space is tight, though. The site covers only the base of the tower and a narrow strip near the parking lot next to the Cyclone.

Price caps on hot dogs and soda

The winning bidder may run snack stands, but Parks sets the highest prices it can charge. A hot dog can cost no more than $4, and a can of soda no more than $3. The department also said it prefers menus with healthier options such as fruit, granola bars and smoothies.

The bid documents show that the current operators earned more than $2.2 million last year and paid Parks a $265,000 annual fee. Central Amusement International, the company that developed Luna Park, runs both the tower and the coaster today. The company did not say whether it plans to bid. Parks did not answer a request for comment right away.

When the Parachute Jump still ran, riders went up the 262-foot tower in a two-seat canvas chair hanging from a parachute and then dropped back down. In 1939 an adult ride cost 40 cents. Other work is also planned in the area. In late 2025, then-Mayor Eric Adams announced a $1 billion overhaul of the 2.5-mile Riegelmann Boardwalk. That work has not started yet. In September, the city’s Economic Development Corporation asked for bids from teams to lead a rebuild that would help the roughly 100-year-old boardwalk withstand climate change.