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 ›

After sitting in jail for five years awaiting his trial, a Bronx man was cleared of all of the charges against him on Tuesday. Michael Ikoli, 22, had been behind bars at Rikers Island since 2004, when he was accused of being involved in the shooting outside a skating rink. more ›

Authorities are investigating a brawl that led to a fatal shooting at the Skate 22 roller rink in Union, NJ. The Union County Prosecutor's Office says that 100 people, ages 13 to 25, had been attending a party, "At some point before the shooting, there were two groups of people fighting, words were exchanged and shots rang out." The victim was reportedly a 15 or 16 year old boy who was shot in the head. One witness said groups of girls had been fighting throughout the night and the shooting then resulted in a stampede out of the facility. WABC 7 reports while many of the party goers were held as police searched for the gunmen, "Police were investigating the possibility that several armed men fled the rink in the chaotic rush following the shooting." 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 ›

The hearing held to Save Coney Island on June 24th was well attended, but lacked some of the area's supportive characters. Rosie Perez, Murray Hill, Dreena De Niro and others were all showing their support in a different way at the (poorly scheduled) premiere of a Lola Starr's short documentary. Starr is currently trying to make her Dreamland Roller Rink a permanent fixture on the island. Below is a video of testimonials by those who attended the screening instead of the hearing. 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 ›