Mermaids and Pirates

This weekend was the annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island. Fernando, Amore Jr. and myself went for a looksie. For those of you who don't know about Coney Island or the Mermaid Parade here it is:

Coney Island: Beach at the edge of Brooklyn with the famous Cyclone rollercoaster, other rides, fried food and a paintball game called Shoot the Freak. Also home to the annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest that is broadcast on ESPN. For a fuller picture - Surf avenue (the main street) is old and dirty. There are lots of run down food shacks, litter in the street, and other random shops that really don't belong on a beach boulevard (like the two discount furniture stores). The train station into Coney Island is brand new, but it is the only new and nice thing there. The beach is PACKED with people. Barely any room to do anything. And, if you wander through the umbrellas down the beach you will hit some pockets of mary jane smoke and get a contact high. The water looks pretty dirty too.

The Mermaid Parade - an annual parade to usher in Summer. People dress like sea things- sea creatures, sea gods, mermaids, clams, lobsters, pirates, etc. It is like halloween in the middle of summer. It is also famously known for the topless women who join the parade with painted bodies or pasties. The parade has an underlying hippy-ish theme.

This year was a little different than most. They are getting ready to tear down lots of Coney Island to build new developments. Many of the paraders were protesting the development and the things that will come along with it like Starbucks and other big chain businesses.

You know, I'm kind of on the fence with this one. In one way, I can understand the desire to preserve Coney Island. But it's a dump. If they would just clean up the streets, paint the old buildings, and revitalize the pavillion it would be fine. You could get the best of both worlds. They don't need to raze the whole thing and start over, but I definitely think it needs a lot of work. So, we shall see what happens. This year is the last year that it will all be intact. For better or worse!