This morning Coney Island's roller queen Lola Staar (real name Dianna Carlin) announced on her blog, "Dreamland Roller Rink will not be celebrating our third season inside the beautiful Childs Building in Coney Island. To my surprise, I just found out that the owners of the building have decided not to allow Dreamland Roller Rink to continue" in their space on West 21st Street. more ›

Watch out, MTA—Coney Island's Lola Staar is giving people another reason to be upset with the way things are run. The Brooklyn Paper reports that after getting kicked out of her last storefront from talking smack about landlord Joe Sitt, Staar moved into the MTA's "reopened European-style Stillwell Avenue hub." However, she sees no sign of the shop opening for the season since the blueprints seem to be held up at the MTA offices, where they have been since February. She told the paper, “My business is seasonal, so if they tell me I can’t open until October, I really won’t see any business until next summer. I call [the MTA] all the time and I get absolutely nothing out of them." The MTA promises they are reviewing them, but that the department is backlogged. Staar says "I could pay them rent right now." Hello, MTA, someone wants to give you money! more ›

After a heavy-handed scare tactic on Christmas Eve, Coney Island developer Joe Sitt is expected to offer new leases to nearly a dozen Boardwalk tenants—except for one: funky pink-hued boutique Lola Staar. As previously reported in the Brooklyn Paper, Lola owner Dianna Carlin believes Sitt and his company Thor Equities are retaliating against her for her outspoken criticism. She tells the Daily News, "No one knows better than me how vicious and evil they are but it still astounds me." Yeah, one could see how comments like that could sorta backfire. Carlin, who says she's "heartbroken," reveals that a Sitt lackey called her recently to say, "We're kicking you out. Have a Happy New Year." Michael Sarrel, co-owner of Ruby's, says, "We believe we are being renewed, but as of today I don't know for sure. There's a substantial rent increase. The truth is the previous rent was fair. The new rent is unfair." more ›

According to an email and this post on the Coney Island message board, the annual post-Polar Bear swim party at Ruby's Bar on the boardwalk will proceed, despite escalating fears that the beloved dive would close. On Christmas Eve, a large number of businesses on the boardwalk were plastered with "For Lease" signs by Thor Equities, which owns much of the property on Coney Island and is locked in tough negotiations with the city over the make-up of a proposed upscale hotel and amusement project. more ›

After lots of partying and posturing, Lola Staar has achieved her goal of re-opening Dreamland Roller Rink on Coney Island. Kinetic Carnival reports that an official announcement is expected soon, but expect the rink will be open July 19th through mid October (from 12 noon to midnight every weekend). Only fleetingly opened last year after she won a contest, Staar (real name Diana Carlin) has spent her waking hours trying to make her dreamland a reality. Hopefully it will be a permanent, or at least seasonal fixture at the historic Childs Building. more ›

On March 22nd Lola Staar opened up her Dreamland Roller Rink inside the historic Childs Building on the Coney Island Boardwalk. The temporary rink was paid for by Glamour and Tommy Hilfiger, who sponsored a contest Staar won. more ›

After nearly a year without roller-skating, the pastime returned to Coney Island with the opening of the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink yesterday. The star-studded event - Marissa Tomei, Ashanti, and of course Lola Staar (aka Dianna Carlin) were there - looked like a grand ole time. The portable roller-rink is located in the Childs Restaurant Building at 21st St. and the Boardwalk, where Carlin believes she can reach an agreement to use the building until a permanent tenant is found. more ›

The 34-year-old shop owner/activist (and part-time rollerskater), Dianna Carlin, has taken the first roll around the Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink -- set to open in Coney Island tomorrow (ending a near year-long dry spell of rollerskating in the area). Mr. Coney tells us, "Roller skating has always been popular in Coney Island, dating back to the Sea Beach Palace Roller Rink of the 1890s. The Palace, located on Surf Avenue at West 8th Street, was transformed from a railroad terminal into a rink that hosted roller dancing and roller racing events. There were also rinks at Dreamland, Luna Park, and Steeplechase." more ›