8
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JANUARY 12, 2020
STAR STRUCK
BY ROSE ADAMS
A Coney Island business
owner may shutter
her boutique in response to
a dramatic rent hike at the
hands of amusement park’s
international landlord, the
store owner announced on
Wednesday.
“New Year’s Day is my
favorite day in Coney Island.
But today I didn’t go.
My heart is too broken,”
wrote Dianna Carlin, the
owner of Lola Star Souvenir
Boutique, in a Jan. 1 Facebook
post. “It might also be
the fi nal day of the shop I’ve
owned for the past 19 years.
I am supposed to be moved
out of the store in less than
15 days.”
Carlin went on to add
that she has until Jan. 15 to
reach a deal with Zamperla
— although she claims that
a deal is unlikely.
“I proposed a 50-percent
rent increase . . . and they’re
still wanting 400-percent,”
she said on Thursday. ” It’s
getting close… but not defi -
nite.”
Six Riegelmann Boardwalk
businesses — including
85-year-old Ruby’s Bar
and Grill and 57-year-old
Paul’s Daughter — had
from early Nov. to Dec. 31 to
negotiate the proposed rent
hikes.
Carlin, who goes by Lola
Star, said she initially faced
a nearly 500-percent rent increase
when the amusement
park’s operator announced
the hikes in November, two
months before the tenants’
eight-year leases were set
to expire. On Dec. 5, Carlin
claimed that the rent increase
had been knocked
down to nearly 400-percent
— still above her ability to
pay.
“I would have to close,”
she said at a Dec. 5 rally
protesting the proposed increases.
“I have no choice.
I don’t know any business
that could pay that much.”
Carlin did not answer how
much she paid in rent.
All the other tenants
are in the process of fi nalizing
their eight-year leases,
sources said. One affected
business owner, who spoke
on the condition of anonymity,
said his rent increase
was reasonable.
“I believe the deal was
fair,” said the owner, who
previously claimed he was
facing a 25 to 75-percent
rent hike, not the fi ve-fold
increase Carlin reported. “I
would’ve liked to pay less, but
I believe it was a fair deal.”
Lola Star’s impending
closure isn’t the fi rst time
the amusement district’s operator
forced out local businesses.
In 2010, Zamperla,
the Italian corporation that
operates six acres of the
People’s Playground on behalf
of the city, tried to kick
out all eight boardwalk
businesses, including Ruby’s
and Paul’s, but ended
up ousting only fi ve after
facing public pressure.
Local advocates blasted
Zamperla for its allegedly
unethical business practices,
claiming that the corporation
asks tenants to
sign non-disclosure agreements
and fork over 10-percent
of their profi ts every
month.
“It’s one thing for private
landlords to have nondisclosure
agreements, but
it’s another thing when the
city and the City Council issues
non-disclosure agreements,”
CLOSING: Lola Star (center) will shut down her Coney Island souvenir
shop because of massive rent hikes. Photo by Rose Adams
said civil rights
lawyer. Norman Siegal at
the Dec. 5 rally. “What do
you have to hide?”
However, an anonymous
business owner claimed on
Jan. 2 that he never signed a
non-disclosure agreement,
after he declined to comment
on the matter in November.
“There was never any
non-disclosure agreement
with anybody,” he said.
Representatives from
Zamperla, the Mayor’s Offi
ce, and the Economic Development
Corporation did
not respond to requests for
comment by press time.
Coney Island’s Lola Star boutique likely to close following massive rent hike
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