I come to you today with sand in my shoes.........

Following the sounds of the Hungry March Band toward City Hall I came upon a much smaller (yet large in spirit!) crowd than I anticipated for the rally to Save Coney Island from condo development. On the steps of City Hall representatives from the Coney Island glitterati (except Dick Zigun) such as Lola Starr, Miss. Coney Island, Miss. Cyclone, The Polar Bear Club, people that grew up in the neighborhood amongst others spoke against a sideshow style banner as the Hungry March Band played on in the background. No politicos to my knowledge were present. Polar Bear Club President Louis Scarcella made an rousing heart felt speech in which he said "I come to you today with sand in my shoes from Coney Island where I swam this morning" and "Stillwell Avenue and the Boardwalk are the crossroads of the world" to lots of cheers. Scarcella spoke of the small time operators that make Coney Island what it is, how the reason people come to Coney is to taste the hotdogs ON THE BOARDWALK from the little guys who have the businesses there. He brought up the question, "Why can we not bring the old Coney Island into the future without destroying it?" My sentiments exactly.When the press conference was over (and I have to say it was mostly press in attendence), The Coney Crowd paraded up Broadway to the surprise of the downtown lunchtime crowd and ended up at a totally random spot amongst the hustle & bustle at that other crossroads of the world, Canal and Broadway.