Well! First we learned we're going to be deprived of our topless sunbathing privileges at Fort Tilden, and now it turns out the Mermaid Parade may have to go, too, meaning we may have to endure an entire summer without any beach-side nudity at all. That bitch Sandy heaped so much debt upon Coney Island that organizers fear they're going to have cancel the event.
“We’ve been through a hurricane and we have $400,000 worth of damage,” Coney Island USA founder and director Dick Zigun told the Daily News. “We’re a tiny organization and I’m not going to commit organizational suicide to put on the parade unless the money is there.”
Zigun also issued a statement further explaining the situation:
This year we face unprecedented challenges. As the crowds have grown over the past years, the city has begun imposing new regulations and restrictions that have sharply increased the cost of the event. On top of that, Hurricane Sandy, that malevolent sorceress, wreaked havoc on the Coney Island community. We as an organization, like many others, are still recovering from the damage. What this all means is that the Mermaid Parade now has a budget shortfall of $100,000. This is an impossible gap for a tiny non-profit arts organization like ours.
But all is not lost, because on May 7th, Zigun will be launching a Kickstarter to keep the parade afloat. $100,000 sounds like a lot, but the organization must have considerable faith that the adoring public will pull through, because registration to don your favorite sea-themed pasties and march along remains open. If this lady can raise $3,840 for her personal "rainbow birthday parade," then by God, we can do this, too.
