A note from Mayor Michael Bloomberg promising to “pursue an interim measure that will allow Astroland to reopen” has filled some diehard amusement park enthusiasts with new hope this week even as rides have begun to be dismantled.
Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert ordered the gates shut on the Surf Avenue amusement park presumably for the last time on Sept. 7 after landowner Thor Equities failed to offer up a lease extension on the property.
But last week, a number of Coney Island advocates and stakeholders received an e-mail from the mayor bemoaning Thor Equities’ refusal to bring back Astroland for the 2009 season and suggesting there might still be a way for the 46-year-old park to return.
“Thor’s refusal to agree to the extension was greatly disappointing, but we will continue to pursue an interim measure that will allow Astroland to reopen,” the mayor wrote. “At the same time we will continue moving ahead – in partnership with local community leaders – with our long-term vision for the area.”
Astroland’s popular Pirate Ship ride was being dismantled when the Bay News recently visited the site.
Under the terms of her current lease with Thor Equities, Albert must reportedly clear the 3.1-acre Astroland site at the corner of West 10th Street and Surf Avenue of all rides and amusements by January or face financial penalty.
“I’m pretty sure that the ride sales are a go,” Astroland spokesperson Joe Carella said.
Coney Island Development Corporation President Lynn Kelly said that she is still “hopeful that something can be done,” but conceded that the language used in the mayor’s email to Coney Island ride advocates might have been “too strong.”
A city spokesperson qualified the mayor’s email, saying, “While the games and rides of Astroland may be leaving the site, we are working on an interim strategy that will return amusements, rides, games and fun to Coney Island.”
The CIDC expects that its strategic redevelopment plan designating nine acres of Coney Island property as protective parkland will still be in the midst of ULURP or Uniform Land Use Review Procedure next season.
“We’ll be in ULURP next summer,” Kelly said. “There’s no reason Astroland should leave.”
According to Kelly, the city has had ongoing discussions with Thor Equities in an effort to broker a deal that would allow Astroland to return, but so far their response has been “not interested” – leaving the city to push its case in the “court of good opinion.”
Spokesperson Stefan Friedman promised “Thor Equities is focused on the future of Coney island, which next summer will include a dynamic array of amusements, games, shopping and other entertainment that will pave the way towards making Coney a year-round destination.”
With their recent $11 million acquisition of the one-acre Ward family property, Kelly says that the city has acquired almost 50 percent of the land it wants to assemble as part of its Coney Island redevelopment plan.
“I think we’re doing pretty good,” she said. “We’re well on our way. We own all the streets. I think we showed the other property owners that we’re serious about making fair offers for the land.”
The city maintains that its controversial rezoning plan will ensure that Coney Island will “forever be a world-class amusement area that is a year-round destination, while also preserving the historic character that makes Coney Island such a special place.”
