Aquarium Gets Major Donation to Build Shark Exhibition

By AARON EDWARDS

Jokes, puns and an intimate encounter with a bubbly sea lion dominated the headlines after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's visit to the New York Aquarium on Thursday.

But there was a more serious bit of business: the announcement of a sizable donation to the aquarium, a strong sign of support for a New York City mainstay that has historically struggled to keep finances (and fins) afloat.

To help with the construction of the aquarium's latest project, a large shark exhibition, Barbara H. Zucker, a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the aquarium, and her husband, Donald Zucker, have donated $7.5 million.

The money, which officials say is the largest single donation that the aquarium - in Coney Island, Brooklyn - has received, will go toward the $127 million project that is scheduled to open in spring 2015.

The city has committed about $93 million, and the Wild life Conservation Society has raised about $11 million.

Coney Island, home of the aquarium since 1957, has undergone its own revival - from a dingy, run-down Boardwalk empire into a more polished, but still recognizable, waterside destination. The aquarium itself has ebbed and flowed with the area.

Unlike the Bronx Zoo, which is recognized globally as one of the best zoos in the world, the aquarium has not spent much time in the limelight, and some believe it is time for a makeover.

“The cultural paradigms around aquariums have shifted in the last 20 years,” said Jon Forrest Dohlin, vice president and director of the aquarium. “The facility is old. We've been able to skate by on old technology, but that's not really appropriate anymore.”

So the new exhibition, which is supposed to feature 115 species of animals, including sharks, rays and sea turtles, is both an investment and a gamble. Though its success or failure wouldn't necessarily dictat e the aquarium's future, Mr. Dohlin said, it is a chance to bump up the aquarium's level of prominence.

“Combined with the upswing in Coney Island at large, it's our belief that the additional attendance will more than offset our increased operating costs with this project,” he said.

Attendance at the aquarium has fluctuated over the past few years, but it has remained over 700,000 for the past three years. Gross revenue has averaged about $15 million per year over the past five years.

Ms. Zucker has been a longtime trustee with the Wildlife Conservation Society, and she has been integral in keeping the aquarium at the forefront of discussions among the society's leading officials, Mr. Dohlin said.

She and her husband, a real estate developer, live on Long Island and visit the aquarium regularly with their grandchildren.

“We go straight to get a Nathan's hot dog, and then to the aquarium,” Ms. Zucker said. “I've always wondered, ‘We have a world-class zoo; why can't we have a world-class aquarium?' We're fortunate to live comfortably, and we have an opportunity to make a difference. So we're going to do it.”