Thor Watch

Over the past month, accusations have flown about on the Coney Island USA message board that many new board members are actually shills for Joe Sitt and Thor Equities. While some of these accusations may have been overblown, one recent post by new user 'born_in_brooklyn' (who identifies herself as 'Alice') is such blatant pro-Thor propaganda that one can't help but suspect that Thor is employing some nefarious cyber tactics.

It is entirely possible, of course, that a genuine, independent thinking Brooklynite could have come to the conclusion that people are no longer interested in old style amusements, that the area would be better served by condos, and that therefore "we should give this guy Joe Sitt a chance." There are undoubtedly area residents who feel this way.

However, its quite unlikely that one such resident simply decided to sit down and write a labored, eight paragraph message board post in which they identify themselves as "an average citizen of Brooklyn New York" who has "no stake in the Coney Island debate," but has objectively decided that Thor "CEO Joe Sitt should be commended for being the only person in fifty years to want to build in Coney," and, by the way, would just like to outline every one of Thor's major arguments in detail.

What's most shocking about the post is not that Thor Equities is so desperate that they're employing such tactics, but that they're employing them so poorly. The 'average citizen of Brooklyn New York' line alone sends up red flags that the post is at least slightly disingenuous; almost every other sentence in the post is just as bad. If 'Alice' isn't deploring the "bloggers" on the message board or "the tawdry amusements of our grandparents era," she's pointing out that people today want an "entertainment mecca for the 21st century," or that "condos would be a perfect use of that space." These are such blatant pieces of corporate speak that its almost inconceivable to imagine any person sitting down and typing even one of them into a message board post. Let alone eight paragraphs of such phrases.

All along, Thor Equities has shown nothing but disrespect for the people of Coney Island. This low budget, condescending propaganda is just another example of this fact.

- post by Ben Nadler