The Carny is Back at Coney Island

The media spin machine was once again running overtime as almost all media outlets praised the so called “renaissance” that was previewed at Coney Island last week.



The mayor and his usual list of suspects were there in full force telling everyone what a wonderful thing this was going to be for the neighborhood and the economy of Coney Island.



I was very glad that I was not there but if I was I would have definitely checked to make sure that I still had my wallet before I left.



This was just the latest example of the shell game that is constantly being perpetrated upon the residents of NYC.



While everyone would agree that for years Coney Island has been neglected and needs to be redeveloped no one wants to admit that this current plan revolves around one thing that was never mentioned in any of the speeches.



“Gambling”



If anyone believes that the developers do not have that on their minds then they have been taken over by the spell of our three card monte politicians.



Even in its hey day Coney Island was only a summer destination.



The only way that this plan will make it into a “resort destination” is if gambling is brought into the mix.



And you don’t have to be a mind reader to know that the luxury hotels planning to be built adjacent to the site are not being built for people coming to ride the Cyclone.



But once again the rich will get richer and more and more people will lose their homes and pensions chasing that dollar and a dream that will undoubtedly be coming soon to Coney Island.



This will be just another grasp to raise city and state revenues to cover a deficit created by over 30 years of mismanagement by our elected officials.



With the deficit where it stands now they will look more and more into short term “fixes” and to them gambling will be the best bet.



Just the fact that the state spends hundreds of millions a year on advertising on lottery and other ads is proof positive of their overall plans.



People will gamble if they want to but why do they need to try to drag new victims into this scam everyday.



And the people of Coney Island will just be the next set of victims.



Just take a look at the neighborhoods that surround Atlantic City to see how much that did to revitalize and rehabilitate the neighborhood.



And the sad part about it is that the state has already proven they are totally incompetent when it comes to gambling.



Just look at the great job that they did with OTB.



And when OTB goes belly up New York taxpayers will be left on the hook for billions in pensions (better then many city employees) that were arranged for the politically connected people that were able to get jobs at the local OTB offices.



While back on the beach according to the mayor and the other elected officials the future looks great for Coney Island.



And he will be saying the same thing when they sell Governor’s Island to a group of Native Americans for a quick infusion of a couple of billion to cover the next deficit.



So to the people of New York and in particular the residents of Coney Island I leave you with the immortal words of P.T. Barnum “There’s a sucker born every minute”





DENNIS MCKEON



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