By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

CONEY ISLAND — Adventurer’s Inn, Palisades Amusement Park, Rockaways’ Playland — people “of a certain age� who grew up in the New York metropolitan area will remember these amusement parks that are no more.

Now, Astroland in Coney Island, founded in 1962 and named after the space boom that was then sweeping the country, has joined them in oblivion. Its last day of business was Sunday, Sept. 7.

The rides, said Joseph Corella, spokesman for the Albert family, who owns the park, will be dismantled, then sold through a broker. As for the giant Astrotower, its future is not clear, but owner Carol Hill Albert has offered it to the nearby New York Aquarium, said Corella. Among the park’s other popular rides were the Top Spin, Dante’s Inferno and the Water Flume, he added.

The family also operates the world-famous, landmarked Cyclone roller coaster, but does so under a separate agreement with the city, and it will continue to roll, Corella assured. Not so lucky will be the 350 or so full-time and part-time employees, many of whom live in the nearby low-income housing projects.

One preservationist organization, the Municipal Art Society (MAS), called on Friday for a last-minute reprieve, possibly brokered by the city.

“We cannot allow the last remaining amusement park in Coney Island to be reduced to rubble,� said Kent Barwick, president of MAS. “The plans currently on the table are speculative, inadequate, and would take decades to come to fruition. Astroland is real and serves as an amenity for millions of New Yorkers.

“The city must do everything in its power to save Astroland for the upcoming seasons, just as it saved the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel and the Parachute Jump from certain death [by declaring them landmarks].�

Dick Zigun, owner of Coney Island USA, said, “It’s a sad day for Coney Island. Thor [the owner of the land that Astroland rented for its park] has ruthlessly driven low-income jobs for people with families from Coney Island. Many of these people will have to go on welfare.�

In a statement last week reported on by the Eagle, a Thor spokesman said that it was “disappointing� that Albert had “decided to give up on the future of Coney Island.�

Although Thor has promised to continue amusement rides on the property, Zigun said that on another lot where Thor had placed midway-type rides during the summer, they were gone before the end of the season and replaced by “a parking lot for school buses … Astroland had good, permanent rides. Will we see Astroland become a paved-over lot?�

Zigun blasted the city’s latest plan for the area for reducing the amount of land earmarked for amusement rides from the previous 15 to 9 acres — another frequent point of contention in Coney Island. He also criticized the city for not doing more to find another space within the amusement area where Astroland’s rides could move — something that was widely talked about a year ago.

Steve Cohen, general manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones, who play at nearby KeySpan Park, said, “It’s [Astroland] an institution, an important part of Coney Island. We’re sad to have to see them go.�

Deno and Steve Vourderis, owners of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, which continues to operate, were unavailable for comment at press time. However, one employee said, “People are sad. We worked well together.�

Borough President Marty Markowitz said he hoped a major amusement operator could be brought to the space next year to continue the tradition of thrill rides there.

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