BK Southie » Lola Starr

This sucks – Lola Star’s Dreamland Roller Rink, which had been operating in the Childs Restaurant building on W. 21st Street and the Boardwalk for the last two summers, will not reopen this season. Lola Star (aka Dianna Carlin) broke the news on her site yesterday that the building’s owner – Taconic Investment Partners – would not allow the rink to return for a third season.

The NY Daily News reported that rising insurance costs – driven by an injury lawsuit from a patron – was the reason behind the decision (via Asylum). Taconic is one of Coney Island’s largest landholders and is seen as quietly preparing a push for high-rise residential development. Their long-term plans for the Childs building include restoration to a restaurant/catering hall, but published reports don’t indicate that was a motivating factor in the eviction. Indeed, Taconic seems to have set itself apart from the attention-needy/tantrum-prone Thor Equities by trying to fill the Childs building with an active attraction, rather than letting it sit derelict. The roller rink was allowed to use the space rent-free in 2008 and 2009.

The soon-to-open Luna Park, complete with the Eye Of Sauron attraction.

Hey, y’all. I took a sick day from the blog yesterday. Here’s your friendly, neighborhood South Blogistan.

I’m guessing ya probably heard by now, but New York Magazine rated the 50 most livable NYC neighborhoods. Bay Ridge (#12) was the highest-rated South Brooklyn neighborhood. Also representing are Sheepshead Bay (#27), Brighton Beach (#30), Sunset Park (#39). The BK Southie editor’s girlfriend’s neighborhood was listed at #5, while the BK Southie editor’s own neighborhood inexplicably did not crack the Top 50. (NY Magazine)
Opening Day in Gerritsen Beach, Little League style. (GerritsenBeach.net)
Construction work is taking place at the future Luna Park site day and night. Will the new park be Astroland 2.0? More importantly, is that a good thing or a bad thing? (Amusing The Zillion, Kinetic Carnival)
Speaking of Coney Island, Lola Star has a pretty good summary of what to expect event/programming-wise on the Rabbit’s Isle. (Lola Star’s Diary)
The Sheepshead Bay satellite of Cafe Glechik is putting on some finishing touches. (Sheepshead Bites)
Also, where to get Italian food in Sunset Park. Or where to avoid Starbucks. (The Sunset Park Blog)
Asser-Levy amphitheater update: it’s going to hog up pretty much the whole park. Community Board committee meeting on Wednesday! (Sheepshead Bites)
GBCares membership drive. Right, here. (GerritsenBeach.net)

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Hannah Springer, a Bay Ridge resident that was the subject of a recent Brooklyn Paper article about raw milk consumption, is really really NOT happy with that paper’s coverage. (The Healthy Family Chronicles)
Acid doesn’t hurt people. Delusional psychopathic dog-haters who walk around with jars of acid hurt people. (Sheepshead Bites)
Stillwell Avenue, pre-Joe Sitt. It still annoys me that the first things he tore down were the spots I was most looking forward to visiting in 2007 during my post-Connecticut-exile return to Brooklyn. (Amusing The Zillion)
At first, I didn’t believe it. But if Key Food went through the trouble of publicizing their stocked shelves through the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, then I suppose they really mean to open the 69th Street and Third Avenue location. This Week. (Bay Ridge Blog, Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
I had no idea that the reigning Miss Brooklyn lives in Manhattan Beach and loves thrift stores. I do remember the Brooklyn Paper complaining that the 2008 winner lived in Manhattan (without the Beach). I don’t remember them plugging 2009 winner Keelie Sheridan at all. Maybe they’re not sure where Manhattan Beach is? Or maybe they know exactly where it is, which is probably outside their distribution area. (Sheepshead Bites)
This 1924 aerial view of Gerritsen Beach looks like Google Maps in some sort of Hot Tub Time Machine. (GerritsenBeach.net)
Lola Star is officially back in her Boardwalk cribs. On a related note, her blog makes me extremely confused as to whether I should be spelling her name with one ‘r’ or two. (Lola Star’s Diary)
The volunteer Gerritsen Beach Fire Department is looking for additional support from the community, at least more than 25% of it. I’ll fess up, I had no idea that GB even had a volunteer fire department. (GerritsenBeach.net)
A large condo development on Avenue Z is on the fast track to nowhere. (Sheepshead Bites)

Zoltar

(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28198273@N05/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

1. Splitting Coney Island’s central district in two – a City portion and a Sitt portion – is good for you and me. One of the problems I see with Atlantic Yards – a Bloomberg “Legacy” project with no accomplishments to date – is that a corporate developer has oversight over both his boondogle and the affordable housing which was billed as a benefit to the City. Well, now that the economy has tanked, guess which part of his plan is on indefinite hold, and guess how much public assistance he has to forfeit. If Sitt had been left in charge of the whole of Coney Island, I have no doubt that the social benefit (in this case, a new, quality amusement park) would have been tossed by the wayside in favor of a never-ending run of rent-a-carnivals and fleas-by-the-sea. Now he can focus on combing his patch of sand for every last penny and wooden nickel, and the Bloomberg Administration can concentrate on actually following through on one of their Legacy projects.

2. The Bloomberg Administration’s record with Legacy projects is a bit on the dim side (Olympics, West Side Stadium, Tolls For Transit Take 1, etc), yet I’m oddly optimistic that they’re going to get the job done at Coney Island. Here’s something from the RFP fact sheet I found particularity telling – they’re not looking for a rent-a-carnival to bide time until the big guns move in. They want someone to move in by next summer, and continue to improve their amusement park with phased development. If they can get contractual guarantees – something they apparently failed to do with the affordable housing attached to the Atlantic Yards project – they’ll be in excellent shape to get their first win since the Million Trees.

3. The City is out to prove the Doesn’t Matter side of the Size debate. Count me among those, like the activist group Save Coney Island, who believe there should be more carnival/amusement park space than the 12.5 acres that the City has proposed. But this land sale has sealed it – they’re clearly letting Sitt run with his plans on his side of the demarcation line. If Sitt fails, there may be another chance to review this in the future, but the lines are set for the foreseeable future.

Dreamland Roller Rink Will Not Return To The Boardwalk This Summer

Around South Blogistan – April 20, 2010

Around South Blogistan – Mar. 8, 2010

12 Things I See In Coney Island’s Crystal Ball

Redistricting: “A baby alien popping out of a stomach,” and other mild reactions

On Redistricting: Time To Downsize The Capitol

Mashup: Our love of Bay Ridge, Downton Abbey, and nine-figure lottery payouts

BK Southie Eats: Nablus Sweets

Tomorrow: “Bay Ridge, Etc” Book Launch

BK Southie Eats: Return To Europa