Mermaid Ends Hunger Strike

Coney Island was freaky as always at last week’s Mermaid Parade, when sexy performance artists and burly firefighters once again dressed up as sea creatures, but this year the festivities had a political undercurrent.

New York City officials have a multi-billion-dollar plan to add high rise condos and a shopping center to the seaside resort, and the fear among parade lovers is that Coney Island would lose its kitschy charm.

“This place has a life of its own, and we need to preserve it,” says performance artist, said performance artist Bill Talan, best known as “Rev. Billy,” of the Church of Stop Shopping. He led a group of self-invented circus stars and Coney Island residents bent on stopping the project.

Rev. Billy and wife, Savitri D., were “King and Queen Neptune” at this year’s parade. It’s an honor that in the past has gone to such luminaries as Queen Latifah, David Byrne, Curtis Sliwa and Moby.

The Queen (right), in full mermaid regalia, went on a four-day hunger strike leading up to a public scoping on rezoning Coney Island. "The city can’t ignore the testimony,” Savitri said. “There’s no denying that this place won’t be the same when you build a bunch of 30-story condos.”

Check out highlights of the parade and the protest. Remember, if outrageous behavior isn’t safe at Coney Island, it isn’t safe anywhere.

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Photo © Mario Tama/Getty Images