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Dis-Astroland! Sitt’s Coney ‘Festival’ falls short

Dis-Astroland! Sitt’s Coney ‘Festival’ falls short
The Brooklyn Paper / Tom Callan

Joe Sitt’s much-hyped “Festival by the Sea” didn’t live up to its name.

The Coney Island landowners temporary amusement park of rides, sideshows and a sprawling flea market was completely canceled in its opening weekend despite a promise by his company, Thor Equities, to have 25 rides and carnival acts on the former site of Astroland amusement park, plus a Stillwell Avenue bazaar for food, crafts, and souvenirs.

But both “attractions” were a ghost town of idle employees and few customers. Workers said that the bazaar and rides would now open over Memorial Day weekend instead, according to Amusing the Zillion, a new, anti-Sitt blog.

The total shutdown was even worse than what was expected. Last Wednesday, a Thor spokesman had told The Brooklyn Paper that half the rides would be open.

The Brooklyn Paper / Tom Callan