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The famous Coney Island rocket first appeared on NYC's scene in 1962. It was a 26-passenger movie theater that vibrated as viewers watched a "journey to the moon" movie. More recently, it sat motionless atop a Boardwalk food stand. New plans for Coney are forcing it out. From Brooklyn to the Smithsonian, no organization was interested in displaying this famous icon. Let’s hope the rocket finally touched down in a safe location.▼
IMPORTANT NOTE: This piece was written today about an older New York City news headline. NYCo site delays prevented its publication before now. In an effort to entertain and educate this blog’s devoted viewers, 100’s of older headlines will be posted in chronological order until this blog is discussing current events again. Though some stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of mention and viewer comments.
[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others. This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]
Though Coney Island will be losing its famed Astroland, Joe Sitt plans to build a flea market called, "Flea By The Sea." It will run between April and December along Stillwell Avenue near the Boardwalk. On a less appealing "pest" note, in the coming years, bedbugs throughout New York City are expected to run year round.IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog is a quick comment on an older New York City news headline. Unforeseen NYCo website development delays prevented it’s publication before now. For readership continuity, 100’s of older headlines are to be posted in chronological order until this blog is current. Though some of the stories may no longer be as relevant as they once were, they remain interesting news items worthy of this site’s mention and viewer comments.
[This is a copyrighted editorial, originally published on http://www.NEWYORKCITYonline.com/NYC-Online/blog.php. We invite you to post your comments and reply to others! This piece may be duplicated or printed with permission.]
Doing your Christmas shopping early? How about buying a 275-foot-high Astroland Space Tower at $99,000? Perhaps the Water Flume water ride for $199,000, Break Dance for $299,000, Dante’s Inferno for $225,000, Bumper Cars for $199,000, Merry-Go-Round for $95,000 or the Top Spin ride for a meager $499,000? Step right up and buy ten rides including those previously mentioned for a steal at only $2,724.000! Two dozen other rides will either be listed soon or stored. Carol Albert, Astroland’s longtime operator, must quickly clear Brooklyn's famed Coney Island park of all rides and 16 trailers of carnival items too. Hoping to close a deal with the landlord, she may have waited too long to start the sale. Many hope the Astroland Tower, built in 1963, will be saved and rebuilt somewhere nearby.
New York's Coney Island Astroland rides have ridden off into the sunset. Recently, Astroland operator Carol Albert sent a letter to the lawyer of the landlord, site developer Joe Sitt. She threatened to close her amusement park if she wasn’t granted a two-year extension. Sitt sat pat, saying “We are extremely disappointed that Carol Albert has decided to give up on the future of Coney Island when her current lease isn’t even up for a number of months. A Sitt spokesperson added that Astroland will be replaced next summer with new “amusements, games, shopping and entertainment.” Astroland closed because they couldn’t reach a deal with Thor Equities. Children and families will suffer the most as a result. Albert claims she didn’t give up on Coney, just dealing with Thor and Thor’s CEO, Joe Sitt. Her lease expires on January, 31, 2009. Albert claims she needed the extra time to sell off rides to avoid penalties from Sitt. Time to eBay the rides, Carol. The landmarked Cyclone and Wonder Wheel will not be affected. Though Sitt promised to replace Astroland’s rides, the ones he arranged for this summer were a flop. So for now, a few more childhood memories of Astroland and Coney will be carried out to the ocean by the waves along the beach. Let’s hope that the future of Coney Island maintains a Brooklyn flavor, good and bad, without the corporate, antiseptic taste of Disney.
On September 9th, it appeared that Astroland in Coney Island had entertained its last customer. Thankfully, a deal was reached with Thor Equities to extend the park’s official closing one more year. Thor also extended eight other attractions by the Boardwalk. It’s an unexpected, but very welcome surprise that a settlement was reached.
Thor’s $100 million dollar investment to redesign and develop Coney won’t save Astroland or many of the other places we know. That means New Yorkers and tourists have just one more season to enjoy what remains of old Coney Island before “Corporate Coney” replaces it. Future images of this world famous attraction look more like a generic Disney theme park than a unique Brooklyn experience. That's sad. We can only hope that Coney Island will become as wonderful and distinctive a place as it once was, many, many, many years ago.
