Residents and business leaders in Coney Island Saturday held a rally in opposition to a proposed plan to bring a casino to the area known as The Coney.
The event, which was styled as a funeral for the Mermaid Parade complete with a coffin, raised concerns from residents that the additional traffic as well as construction of the project would bring would be the end of the beloved tradition for the community.
“If this proposed casino gets approved, it may very well be the death of our Mermaid Parade,” said Adam Rinn, the artistic director at Coney Island USA. “When we are looking to apply for street closures, [The Coney] will not want to lose even a day’s work, a day’s worth of revenue to our parade.”
