The Blight Of Coney Delayed?

"The last thing I want is for Coney Island to go dark," said Joseph Sitt, president of Thor Equities to the NY Post. Sitt said he’s "willing to keep Astroland open" - or some form of it - for at least the 2008 summer season if his project is delayed.

And the delay would mainly be from the sparring between Thor and the city in regards to the rezoning Sitt has said is vital to their project. With all the mounting opposition from protesters and exuberant Coney lovers against condos, perhaps Sitt has begun to soften. But some see it as merely another marketing ploy used by Sitt to gain favor.

As some posters at the CIUSA bulletin board pointed out, If Sitt wanted to protect Coney Island from going dark why did Thor evict and demolish most of Stillwell Avenue?

CIUSA bb poster, Del_Air writes:

It has already been reported that Thor bought the land of Astroland but not the rides. The family that sold the land to Sitt owns the rides and they have already stated that they want to relocate the rides. As all the rides in Astroland are basically free standing movable fairground type rides, they will in all likelihood sell off these rides to other amusement parks, etc. When Astroland closes after this season and Thor takes over the land, do you think the people who just closed Astroland are going to leave their rides there for Thor to maybe open for the 2008 season?

Another CIUSA poster, SwithBack writes:

Thor does not own Astroland. The own the site. If Thor were to operate something called Astroland then they would have to pay the Alberts for the right to use the name. Most likely they will have to pay the Alberts to continue to operate Astroland over the 2008 season. Otherwise Thor will have to bring in carnival rides and call the place Coney Island Park and look foolish because it was suppose to be better than Astroland

Weather this is a tool by Thor to gain leverage on their side for their rezoning plans or a sincere interest in the sake of Coney goers – it remains to be seen because it just doesn’t make sense. The only sense here is that Mr. Sitt has dished out too many inconsistencies through fickle press releases and madcap renderings. All full of discrepencies and out-of-scale possibilities that simply does not fit into a sound and cohesive plan for Coney Island, whether you're for 'developement' or not. He's proclaimed daylight holographic technologies that are not yet concieved, rumbling coasters through resident's and tourist's quarters, and invisibile hotels to accomodate tourist's weekend stay to be slipping down the water slide and covering the tiny amusement area ten times over, simply, 'because you paid for the room'.


Feeling the Heat: Sitt Softening on Astroland Closing Date? [Gowanus Lounge]
ASTROLAND MAY GET 1 MORE RIDE [NY Post]