Dianna Carlin

Coney Island merchant Dianna Carlin continues her quest to reopen her Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in the abandoned Childs Restaurant building with the first of two fund-raisers tonight.

Ms. Carlin is trying to raise the necessary funds for an assembly permit to cover the whole 60,000-square-foot building -- the cost of which is considerable.  read more »

"How about making some noise for opening the beach?" Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said from the podium, as brightly dressed protesters standing behind a police line chanted, "Thor no more! Thor no more!"

So began another politically charged season at Coney Island under appropriately gloomy skies on Thursday morning.  read more »

Coney Island merchants sent out a terse press release Friday afternoon in response to "an ominous fence which is obstructing the entrances to an entire block of businesses on the boardwalk."

The Parks Department, which erected the fence a day earlier, issued the following explanation via email to The Observer:

The Parks Department is currently doing maintenance work along the boardwalk including the area between West 12th Street and Stillwell Avenue to reinforce its support structures and repair decking material. The affected areas will be repaired or replaced, and fencing will be removed, prior to the start of the busy beach season. While we regret any inconvenience this may present to adjacent business owners, safer structures will be a benefit in the long run and, in the meantime, we are preserving access wherever possible.

Seaside merchants have long complained about the sorry state of Coney Island's rickety boardwalk.

And some say the city's latest attempt to address the situation isn't really helping:

"Instead of fixing the boardwalk in front of the businesses that go from Stillwell [Avenue] to 12th Street, the Parks Department decided to build this enormous barricade in front of all our stores," said Dianna Carlin, owner of the Lola Starr Souvenir Boutique. "So now all of our businesses are completely blocked in by this wall, which they say will be there all summer."

"It was a great night and it was definitely a huge success by all accounts," gushed Coney Island T-shirt maven Dianna Carlin following last Saturday night's splashy grand opening party at her Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in the abandoned landmark Childs Restaurant building on the boardwalk.

Sponsored by Glamour magazine and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger (promoting a new perfume called "Dreaming"), the event featured appearances by sparkly dressed pop singer Ashanti and pig-tailed actress Marisa Tomei (sporting her own kitschy T-shirt: "I'M PULLIN' FOR PEE-WEE").

"We had 1,000 people RSVP," Ms. Carlin said. "Luckily, not all of them showed up. ... For a while, we ran out of roller skates."

Yet no one has done any skating at the makeshift rink since Saturday's party.

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Curbed and Gowanus Lounge have photos (and video!) from Saturday evening's opening party for the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in Coney Island. The rink is the brainchild of Dianna Carlin, whom my colleague Chris Shott profiled in last week's Observer.

Ms.  read more »

My colleague Chris Shott profiled unlikely Coney Island activist Dianna Carlin in Wednesday's Observer, including her efforts to open a roller rink in the Brooklyn neighborhood. (The New York Post has a story on Ms. Carlin in today's paper. It's, um, labeled EXCLUSIVE.)

Ms. Carlin emailed us on Wednesday about the opening-day party for the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink. It's tomorrow at 6 p.m.  read more »

When Coney Island stalwart Dianna Carlin talks about her “wild roller-coaster ride,” she isn’t referring to the rickety old Cyclone.

Last March, the gingery 34-year-old T-shirt designer from Detroit was facing eviction from her small souvenir shop on the boardwalk.  read more »

“I think it’s very bad-ass,” said Brooklyn burlesque queen Angie Pontani. “It’s a really bold move and I’m proud of the city for coming up with it.”

She was referring to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial plan to redevelop Coney Island.

“In the face of Coney Island becoming a high-rise luxury condominium development, I think this is definitely a really good scenario,” Ms. Pontani told The Observer. “I think anything that preserves the amusement district is a good idea.”  read more »