Nathan's Staying at Coney Island, At Least

Well, that's a relief: Nathan's tells the New York Times that it intends to maintain its flagship hot-dog stand on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. There was some question of it when people noticed a city environmental impact statement that said Nathan's Famous, which has occupied the corner for 93 years, was "assumed to be replaced under the proposed actions" of the Coney Island redevelopment scheme.

The question is: after we've have our first softshell-crab sandwich of Summer 2009, what else will be at Coney to enjoy? The Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, being landmarked, will presumably remain, but the Astroland amusement park is gone (possibly to Australia); a lot of the other attractions (batting cages, go-karts) have been dismantled, and more are being bought out all the time. Hell, they're replacing broken wooden planks on the Boardwalk with plastic! The idea seems to be to let the place go to rubble until some multi-billion-dollar plan can be affected, which is sad for those of us who liked it just the way it was.