[size=18px]Deals may maul Coney faves[/size]
BY DEBORAH KOLBEN
DAILY NEWS WRITER
The famed Coney Island Boardwalk might soon get a facelift after developer bought chunk of land.
A shopping mall developer has quietly snatched up property along Coney Island's famed Boardwalk - sparking fears that beloved attractions could be replaced by a mall.
Thor Equities has bought property on W. 12th St., where a go-kart track stands, and along the Boardwalk where "Dunk the Creep," a souvenir shop and a gyro stand reside.
The businesses were told to be out by the end of the summer, owners told the Daily News.
"We are looking for a new home," said the manager of the gyro stand, who goes by the name Joey Clams. "Are they going to take us out and replace us with an Applebee's or Olive Garden? Knishes, hot dogs, shish kebab - that's what makes Coney Island."
Other operators also are worried because their landlords have only offered short-term leases with sky-high rent hikes.
Shop owners and landowners said Kings County GOP Chairman Hy Singer, who owns several Coney Island properties, was negotiating with Thor to sell land whose tenants include Nathan's on the Boardwalk and the venerable Ruby's bar.
Singer refused to comment.
A Thor spokesman was tight-lipped about what the developer plans to build, but promised it would revive the area.
This would seriously blow! I'm all for improving and upgrading the nieghborhood, but Coney Island without Nathan's would never be right. Amazing how politicians own all this land. I guess that really helps with the zoning laws, huh?
that former mayor Rudy Gulliani took up the crusade to drive out all the peep shows from the area, what about all the legitimate businesses that got caught up in the inquisition.