For those outside of NYC, New York had a huge, corny amusement park at the beach, with it's own subway station. The owners sold it in 2006 to a developer, and it is not clear what they will do with it, other that it will cease to exist. It shut down officially on September 7, 2008. I did a homage to the park in my very own panoramic style, I hope you enjoy it:
newyorkpanorama.com/2008/09/12/good-bye-coney-island-astroland/
That just goes to show how different people are: I could never abide fairgrounds as a child and even less as an adult. I´m not exactly sure why that is so, but I have figured that it has something to do with a dislike for the loud, the brash and the vulgar in people. It is part of the same thing that kept me out of British and Irish pubs when I lived in that land and still manages to insulate me now from the expat versions that spring up like minor nightmares in Spain.
I do enjoy Spanish bars, though, because the ethos is something entirely else. At least, in the few I frequent. Perhaps this might be because there is no sense of a violent undertone - either that or I´m too dumb to feel it when I see it. But it works for me.
Maybe there will be no development in Coney Island for a while - where´s the money going to come from?
Rob C
