It’s the last weekend of the season for Coney Island – okay, really the next-to-last, and some attractions will stay open into October – and the start of what should be the most momentous winter in the neighborhood’s history. Locals are hoping for a reprieve from the wrecking ball, but girding for the worst, as neither the city nor developer Joe Sitt will tip their hands as to what comes next.

The coming Labor Day weekend marks the traditional end of summer at Coney Island, the final blowout before the ride operators pack up and fly south for the winter. And if it’s more a theoretical than an actual milestone—Astroland and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park will still be open for business next week, not to mention the Cyclones haven’t held their Brooklyn Bridge Bobblehead Night yet—it packs more emotional punch this year for one simple reason: No one knows what the beachfront will look like when the warm weather returns… [read more]