Coney Meeting Informative and Uneventful, Except for a Drunk

Last night's meeting on the city's Coney Island plan worked out to be uneventful, except for a long and rambling statement by State Sen. Carl Kruger and some outbursts by an audience member described as drunk. There was a moderate turnout that didn't come close to filling a large auditorium and promised busloads of protesters did not materialize. We were unable to attend, but there is lengthy and definitive coverage available at Kinetic Carnival as well as a very good description of the meeting at the blog Lornagrl. Sen. Kruger, whose district does not include Coney Island, apparently misspoke several times, referring to Coney Island as Brighton Beach. Here's Kinetic's intro (please read their full coverage. It is comprehensive.):

Last night’s CIDC: Coney Island Development Corporation meeting and information session was not the colorful political circus whirling with Coney flavor and character that was predicted. Besides a random fumbling heckler and New York Senator Carl Kruger mistaking Coney Island for Brighton Beach and the amusement core for the aquarium, as well as the usual bevy of cameras scurrying frantically to catch every flinch, it was business as usual.

Lornagrl described the scene this way:

Everyone was pretty quiet and listening with interest. Except for one man. He sat two seats down from me, a heavy set man with leathery skin. He reeked of alcohol and breathed heavily. He was quiet at first but that didn't last. The poor woman conducting the presentation managed to maintain her composure while he belted out protests like: yuppie enclave, minimum wage jobs and dream based on the machine. I think he believed that others would follow suit but he just pissed people off.

The poster known as Captain Nemo at the Coney Island Message Board offered the following summary of the scene:

Kruger maybe had 10 people, if that much this time. Someone was handing out signs with nice political ads for kruger, like kruger lead the charge and such. Kruger spoke first, and they let him ramble on and on, till they finally said enough, and even then he was indignant and kept talking. They threw out the 3 minute limit, but he still wasnt satisfied. I counted several times he just said Brighton Beach in his remarks, not Coney Island...There was one yellow hat wearing lady, which I guess was BUILD. There was another organization called CI CLEAR, they were handing out literature as you walked in, I just ignored them. They were handing out t-shirts too. It was something about community and labor, making sure they get a piece of the building pie.

The sessions continue today. There is an afternoon meeting from 3PM-5PM at Coney Island Hospital, which is located at 2601 Ocean Parkway and an evening session from 7PM-9PM, again at Lincoln High School, which is at 2800 Ocean Parkway. We are heartened to know that attendees were able to listen to a thoughtful presentation.

Links:
CIDC Panel Wins This Round Over Kruger's Lament [Kinetic Carnival]
CIDC Information Session: Only one arrest (that I know of anyway) [Lornagrl]

[Photo courtesy of Kinetic Carnival]