Everyone’s got the story. CONEY ISLAND: AS REDEVELOPMENT BEGINS: MANY RIDES MAY NOT BE AROUND NEXT SUMMER! Gowanus Lounge has a major wrap up today of all the blog coverage. This from the Daily News:

Close the Zipper and shoo the Spider.

Those amusement rides – along with go-carts, batting cages and carny
games – have been ordered out of a Coney Island site as redevelopment
begins.

"Everybody’s heartbroken," said Eddie Miranda, who has owned the W.
12th St. rides, including the Zipper and the Spider, for eight years.
"We were all hoping for one more season."

Eight renters received notice last week from their properties’ new
owner, developer Thor Equities, telling them to be out when their
leases expire Dec. 31.

Six tenants are in the Henderson Building on Stillwell Ave., a
turn-of-the century structure that once housed a dance hall and hotel.
The other two are are along W. 12th St. and Stillwell Ave. Combined,
they operate more than a dozen businesses.

"This means a lot because I’ve been here for so long," said Maritza
Suriano, the owner of a souvenir shop in the Henderson Building for 20
years. "For them to throw us out, it shouldn’t be like this."

But Thor Equities says the move is just the first step in a $1.5
billion plan to revitalize the famed Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood.

The redevelopment plan calls for a new promenade on Stillwell Ave.
along with residential, entertainment and amusement components, Thor
Equities spokesman Lee Silberstein said.

"The effort to transform Coney Island and recapture its past glory
involves the demolition of a number of existing structures,"
Silberstein said. "Therefore, to allow the new development to proceed
in a timely manner, occupancy agreements with some of the tenants are
not being renewed."