Negotiations to keep Coney Island’s Astroland Park open in 2008 are at a standstill, with developer Joseph Sitt seeking $3 million rent for next summer and the park’s operator wanting to continue paying $170,000, sources told The Post yesterday.
Sitt is seeking 17 times higher rent to help recoup some of the $30 million he paid Astroland operator Carol Hill Albert for the park property last year.
It’s part of his plan for a year-round entertainment complex in the heart of the amusement district.
But with City Hall unhappy about Sitt’s $1.5 billion proposal, Astroland and the dozens of other boardwalk businesses whose fate the developer controls want lease extensions for 2008.
Astroland’s last scheduled day of operation is Sept. 8, but the lease runs until January, and Albert is also working with the city to try to find a new boardwalk site to relocate her rides.
An Astroland spokesman said the “ball is in [Sitt’s] court” to keep the park open.