Thanks to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who handed over the keys to Coney Island to Italian entrepreneur Zamperla USA, the majority of attractions that have weathered Coney Island through good times and bad, have been handed their exit papers.
Gone will be 'Shoot the Freak', Gregory & Paul's, Cha Cha's Bar, Gyro Corner, et al, and - most painfully - Ruby's Bar & Grill. All of these establishments have been in existence for decades.

Ruby's, in particular, had become the place to be on New Year's Eve and the celebrating continued well into the next afternoon. You could buy a beer and a hot dog at Ruby's and not feel like you were being ripped off at a sporting venue. Rock bands jammed for hours on end on the open boardwalk and thousands of walkers stopped to take in the music.

Just recently, the city has begun replacing rotting wooden boardwalk planks with concrete pavement - so much for preserving the legendary Coney Island boardwalk. It's all part of the gentrification of the Coney Island district. The charm and the nostalgia will be replaced by the likes of Starbucks and other yuppie icons, not to mention the never-ending construction of expensive condos abutting the boardwalk. It's over. It's all over. This is how they define progress.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Zamperla gave a pass to the flagship Nathan's Famous outlet on Stillwell Avenue, though they hold the lease and can extort that establishment for any price they demand. There would have been a war if Nathan's had been given its walking papers, too. Additionally, Zamperla will take over operation of the Cyclone rollercoaster - we'll see if this legendary coaster remains in business for long......condos are far more profitable.

RIP, Ruby's.