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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DEC. 15, 2019
BATTLE OF THE BOARDWALK
Coney Islanders rally to protest rent increases
BY ROSE ADAMS
Protesters took to the steps
of City Hall on Dec. 5 to protest
massive rent hikes along the
Coney Island boardwalk, which
threaten to shut down local
mom and pop shops across the
People’s Playground, according
to one business owner.
“I would have to close,” said
Dianna Carlin, the owner of
Lola Star Boutique who says
she faces a nearly 500-percent
rent increase. “I have no choice.
I don’t know any business that
could pay that much.”
Six Riegelmann Boardwalk
businesses — including 85-yearold
Ruby’s Bar and Grill and
57-year-old Paul’s Daughter —
have until Dec. 31 to negotiate
the proposed rent hikes, which
will go into effect on Jan. 1.
According to Carlin, none of
the businesses have yet reached
an agreement with Zamperla,
the Italian company that operates
the amusement park and
the surrounding boardwalk on
behalf of the city.
The rally, organized by Carlin’s
small business advocacy
group, Save Coney Island, drew
over a dozen colorful protesters
— including famed sword swallower
the Great Fredini, a pageant
winner on stilts, and several
local mavens — all of whom
accused Zamperla of threatening
the heart of the People’s
Playground.
“Small businesses on the
boardwalk are family,” said
Coney Island native Seth Bogdanove.
“I remember after Superstorm
Sandy, Tom’s, the
newcomer on the boardwalk,
fed everyone who helped in
the restoration efforts. A large
business wouldn’t do that.”
Protesters also lambasted
the company for allegedly pocketing
10-percent of each tenant’s
profits every month — and
Coney Islanders rallied at City Hall to protest massive rent hikes planned for boardwalk business owners. Photo by Rose Adams
for forcing tenants to sign nondisclosure
agreements.
“It’s one thing for private
landlords to have non-disclosure
agreements, but it’s another
thing when the city and the City
Council issues non-disclosure
agreements,” said Norman Siegal,
a civil rights lawyer. “What
do you have to hide?”
Carlin — who said she refused
to sign a confi dentiality agreement
or give over her profi ts
when she signed her lease in 2010
— was the only affected business
owner to attend the rally.
According to Siegal, others
refused to show out of fear
of retaliation — although one
business owner, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to
freely discuss ongoing negotiations,
refuted that claim.
“I don’t fear retaliation. I
just don’t think it’s in my best
interest, and I want to get the
best deal I can,” said the business
owner, who claimed that
the rent increases are between
25-percent and 75-percent — not
the five-fold increase that Carlin
cited.
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