April 04, 2007

NYC sells out a bit of history

coney isle carousel.jpg

Coney Island, a historic amusement park that has always been a cross between a carnival and a freaky circus side show, gave the strip of beach in Brooklyn it's famed name. Well, this much beloved amusement park and the birthplace of the hot dog in the US (1867), was sold a week ago to a group of developers for over 30 million dollars. As a result, Astroland will be shutting down it's rides for good at the end of this summer. What will come in its place? A glitzy, Vegas-style complex that includes condos and upscale shops.

I'm sure Brooklynites will have plenty to say on this when they get back from their holydays. As a New Yorker, Coney Island was where I went as a child during hot summers for some sand, surf and sun, a lot of fun on the 15 different kiddie ride (including a kiddie roller coaster) and interesting food. That’s where I had my first taste of cotton candy, caramel corn, corn on the cob, candied apples, ices, fish & chips and where my taste buds grew up by eating my all time favorite: Fried Calamari with spicy marinara sauce!

For the past 3 summers I’ve taken my son there, starting in the spring and ending in September, hoping to stretch out the summer as much as possible. On hearing the news I got a bit wistful, because a bit of my past will be gone when it's demolished. It will only live on in film (over 200), novels, and photographs. I’ve done my share by taking pictures and posting them whenever I’ve been able to at my NYC Postcards site and here (can't find the pics right now). Actually, without the amusement park there really is no reason for me to visit Brooklyn. Sorry Erica, but as they say from where I live, "that's a long-ass trip from Queens!"

Posted by Michele at April 4, 2007 11:40 AM
Comments

Pardon me, but this sucks balls. I will always remember CI as the place where I had a Nathan's hotdog and my father stove ion the roof of a rental car standing on it to take a picture. Funnier shiot you can't make up. I'll have to blog about that.

Posted by: Mark at April 4, 2007 09:38 PM

I cannot imagine a more shittier thing happening to Brooklyn. This is one of the most pivotal aspects of our glorious history, along with the Dodgers and Ebbets Field, and they're stealing it from us. Bastids!

My memories of Coney (it hurts just to start off a sentence with those words, knowing that soon that's it's all I will have) number in the hundreds. The Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, the beach, the Boardwalk, Nathans, the Funhouse, the Log Flume...they're making a huge mistake, and I'll never forgive the developers for it.

Coney Island is something I'll just have to tell my kids about one day, just like my dad telling me stories about walking over to Bedford Avenue to watch Gil Hodges and Duke Snyder smack homeruns into the Abe Stark sign, and Jackie stealing home...I'll just have to take his word for it, that it was something very awesome, but something I can never experience myself.

A frickin' shame. History never teaches us a damned thing.

Posted by: Erica at April 5, 2007 12:52 PM

Awwww... And I never got to go. :-( For no good reason, it makes me a little sad.

Posted by: Richmond at April 5, 2007 06:30 PM

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Posted by: wgplu at February 24, 2010 07:44 AM