Clown Alert: Circus Now Playing in Coney Island

GL headed down to Coney Island yesterday evening to check out the presence of the Cole Brothers Circus, which is playing through August 5. The yellow and red striped tent--which, quite frankly, looks as though it needs a serious power wash--can be seen from blocks away as the F Train and others travel to the Stillwell Avenue Station.

It was hard to say exactly what kind of business the circus was doing, but it looked like a decent sized crowd was coming out of one show, and there seemed to be more people than usual around for a Tuesday night. The circus is occupying land cleared by Thor Equities that had been home to two Go-Kart Tracks, a batting cage and a bumper boat ride. The land has been empty since winter, surrounded by a blue fence. Interestingly, Thor has decorated the inside of the fence with "Future of Coney Island" banners, but the exterior is still simply painted blue. Free outdoor Monday night movies will follow on the property after the Circus leaves town after the weekend.