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Updated 09/04/2009 10:44 PM

Dreamland Reopens For Labor Day Weekend

By: NY1 News

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Visitors to Coney Island this weekend will once again be able to visit Dreamland amusement park.

Workers put the rides and games back together all Friday.

Thor Equities, Dreamland's landlord, shuttered the amusement park two weeks ago, saying the owners had not paid rent for several months. The park's owner challenged the eviction in court.

According to Thor Equities, the deal was brokered by City Councilman Domenic Recchia.

"With kids going back to school next week, and this being the last weekend that they can enjoy the summer, the rides and the beach," said Regina Park of Thor Equities. "The weather is forecasted as being very beautiful. We thought it was the right thing to do, to reopen the park for the kids to enjoy, for the tourists and community to enjoy."

Local residents said they were unsure if the crowds would come to the temporary reopening.

"If everyone knows that it's open, sure they will come," said one Coney Island resident.

"I think a good amount of people will be here, regardless," said another.

Local business owners are hoping the final summer weekend can give a boost to their revenue, following a soggy summer and hurricane activity that brought a business drought. Profits are down 60 percent at some Coney Island boardwalk eateries.

"When they come back, there's going to be more people around, if they advertise," said Oristis Plaidis, the owner of eatery Gyro Corner. "We're going to have fireworks Saturday and Sunday. We'll be okay with it."

The city is working with Thor Equities' owner, Joe Sitt, to purchase 10.5 acres - most of the land Sitt owns - to make way for a massive redevelopment plan approved by the City Council in July.

The developer said it did not regret closing the park to punish a tenant in arrears.

Meanwhile, officials announced Thursday that a relic of Coney Island's golden era that had been recovered from the ocean floor after nearly a century will be on display this weekend.

The 500-pound brass bell tumbled into the Atlantic during a fire at an older Coney Island section called Dreamland Park in 1911. The bell, which was discovered in 25 feet of water by a diver nearly a year ago, was pulled from the water this week.

The bell used to ring to announce the arrivals and departures of steamboats from the pier.

The Coney Island staff plans to display the bell at the Coney Island History Project's free exhibition center this Labor Day weekend.

The 1911 fire burned for 18 hours, completely destroying the original Dreamland Park.