The Brooklyn Paper and The Post are making waves today with sensational headlines about Nathan's Coney Island flagship being doomed by the city's final rezoning plan for the area. But as we cautioned yesterday, this is pure speculation, based on assumptions that the rezone will raise the value of Nathan's property so high that the owner will be tempted to sell. Nathan's CEO Eric Gatoff released this statement this morning: "We remain committed to Coney Island in the long-term and we fully intend to maintain our historic flagship restaurant at 1310 Surf Avenue... As to the latest report issued by the City, we believe the information relating to Nathan's Famous is being misinterpreted and that there is no intention to replace or demolish our flagship location." So everybody calm down; there's certainly plenty to get worked up about on Coney Island right now, but Nathan's Famous lips and assholes will available on Surf Avenue for a long time to come. more ›

THEATER: You’ve got just three more weekends to experience one of the wildest and most entertaining late-night theater extravaganzas to hit New York this century. The Curse of the Mystic Renaldo The defies description – what begins as a fake silent movie (ostensibly unearthed during the construction of 3 Legged Dog’s sleek new theater center) quickly dashes off in countless delirious directions at once: There’s live rock, hilarious vaudevillian slapstick, both high and low art, free popcorn, free regular and light beer, side-splitting ribaldry and, above all, the virtuoso performance of Aldo Perez, the show’s charismatic creator. (Not to take anything away from his equally brilliant co-stars Jenny Lee Mitchell and Richard Ginocchio.) See it now so you’ll have time to catch it again before it closes. - John Del Signore more ›

As Thor Equities gets closer to sinking its teeth into developing/redeveloping there, Astroland will open up again for its last season this weekend. Astroland owners sold the property to Thor last fall and Carol Hill Albert said back in November, "It's not something we're happy about; it's sad. It was the only logical alternative to going out of business altogether." Now, Albert tells the NY Sun, "I think [Thor Equities founder] Joe Sitt has been taking all the city's attention and energy." more ›

- A Dodge Caravan hit three pedestrians on Neptune near West 24th in Brooklyn; a 68-year-old was killed. The Caravan's driver stayed on the scene.And two young women were injured in the East Tremont section of the Bronx. After the fatalities from two weekends ago, the Department of Transportation said, "[I]n the wake of several tragic accidents, it is clear that more needs to be done, and DOT is committed to taking further steps to make the streets as safe as possible." We'll see if that happens. more ›

A strange tragedy in Brooklyn: Nine year old Knil Joel Noel was found dead in his family's apartment by his father yesterday afternoon. His mother was not there - she had jumped in front of an F train at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street. Sadier Jean Noel did not suffer severe injuries, but she lost two fingers and broke a leg. more ›

- The development of affordable housing on City-owned property in the residential area.So there will be a lot of rezoning, but the city seems, so far, to be committed to making sure there are affordable options for residents as well as creating jobs. more ›

There's a super feature on Coney Island's news signs in the NY Times today. Artist Steve Powers offered to paint new signs for various Coney Island businesses for free, and then last year, he and Creative Time formed The Dreamland Artist Club, which connect artists with business owners for Coney Island signage betterment. Times reporter Randy Kennedy finds business owners to be generally happy with the project:

One veteran arcade owner, who spoke only on the condition that his name not be used, said that he was suspicious of the project at first, but had watched as the signs had brought customers back to Jones Walk. more ›

Acrobats, clowns, fire-breathers, magicians, stilt-walkers and a ringmaster are just a few of the characters you'll encounter on Circus Day at Coney Island this Saturday, August 8. Circus Day includes tons of live music, magic shows, acrobatic feats, circus art, face painting... you name it! more ›

Kevin Walsh has put up photographs of this year's parage at Forgotten NY; check out his pictures from last year, 2002, 2001 and 2000. Also, thanks to Kevin for the photograph above. And the Invisible Rabbit has an amazing photo gallery of Mermaid Parade photographs as well. Definitely check both sets of photos out if you missed the parade - everyone's incredibly creative with their costumes. more ›