July 9, 2009
Fans hope Astroland rides again
Perched high in the AstroTower, Dave Marin and his family looked out over the Coney Island beach and into the glistening Atlantic Ocean. It was the first trip up in the famed Astroland Amusement Park ride for his four children.
Whether it will be their last remains unclear.
"I'm glad we got here before it's over," Marin said.
"You can't get it back after it's gone."
Astroland closed for the season -- and possibly forever -- Sunday. But the 45-year-old park's owner and supporters, who held a demonstration near the front entrance Sunday, are hopeful developer Thor Equities will allow the amusement park to remain open for more season while the city undergoes a rezoning process that will last through next summer.
While the bulk of the park closed Sunday, children's rides will remain open for the next couple of weeks.
Thor¹s $1.5 billion redevelopment plan calls for a new amusement park, water theme park, hotels and time-share units on 10 acres between West 10th and West 15th streets. The land, which Thor bought from Astroland last November, is currently zoned exclusively for amusements.
Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert said she was proceeding Sunday as though the park was closing for the season, and not beyond.
"I can't let it go, and honestly, either it's hope or it's denial; I can¹t really tell," Albert said.
Thor CEO Joseph Sitt is asking for $3 million in rent for another year, Albert said; Astroland currently pays $180,000.
A couple dozen protesters Sunday chanted, "One more year," while holding signs reading 'Astroland Yes, Thor No' and 'Save the Last 'Amusement Only' Area in America.'
"Mr. Sitt, you like to call yourself Joe Coney Island," Tricia Vita, an amusement journalist and Coney Island regular since 1982, told supporters.
"You say you want to be a hero and save Coney Island. Now is your chance to create so much goodwill by giving Astroland a one-year lease."
City Councilman Domenic M. Recchia Jr., who represents Coney Island, said he still is trying to broker a deal between Thor and Astroland and added that Thor has guaranteed him that the land where Astroland sits will not be vacant next summer.
"I am confident that if they cannot reach a deal with Astroland that Thor Equities is committed to seeing that this park remains open if they have to get another operator with other rides in here next summer," Recchia said.
But some Astroland patrons said they were concerned the park's successor might strip Coney Island of its charm.
"I guess the developer might be forced into doing something a little more 21st century with the amusement park rides," said Doug Reetz of Manhattan, who was at the park Sunday with his wife and 3-year-old son. But there's that unique seediness about it.
"It's a truly New York area. You see parents with pink hair and pink kids."
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