Prominent voices are joining the chorus calling for Coney Island’s historic buildings to be saved from Thor’s wrecking ball. Both Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Municipal Art Society have called for the threatened structures to be saved.

Markowitz wrote in a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission:

Although Coney Island was once the Playground of the World, much of its historic past has been razed due to fire or disinvestment. The remaining buildings represent the last remaining elements of historic Coney Island. Preserving the structures will not only maintain the historic context of the amusement district but enhance the new development.

New York’s oldest planning and preservation group, the Municipal Art Society, issued a statement saying:

…much of the public appeal of Coney Island lies in its heritage, and there is great public support for preserving the best of Coney’s past while building new buildings and rides on the acres of vacant land that currently exist. MAS believes that steps should be taken to protect the historic buildings that remain at Coney, including those that are threatened by demolition this summer.