Eldorado Auto Skooters sign by Steve Powers, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. September 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr
In lieu of one of the presidential debates, let the candidates come to Coney Island and ride the world-renowned Eldorado Bumper Cars! There’d be no equivocating, no need for fact-checking. The slogan here is “Bump Your Ass Off.” We have to thank conservative columnist Derek Hunter for inspiring this wacky idea with his snarky tweet:
Mitt Romney will be on Meet the Press this Sunday, Joe Biden will be on the bumper cars at Coney Island trying to figure out how they work.
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Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) September 07, 2012Of course, Joe Biden did not come to Coney Island on Sunday. As everyone knows by now, he was photographed at Cruisers Diner in Ohio, winning the biker chick vote while two dudes looked on disapprovingly. The photo cracked us up. Perhaps Coney Island USA should invite Biden and the biker gang to the upcoming Tattoo and Motorcycle Festival? Obama also had an amazing photo op in a Florida pizza parlor on Sunday, where the owner lifted him off his feet in a bear hug. We prefer the pic of him riding the bumper cars with Sasha at the Iowa State Fair in 2007.
Coney Island could use this kind of publicity, especially after Labor Day. When we took these photos last Wednesday, Surf Avenue was a ghost town thanks to rain earlier in the day. Only the Eldorado, Game World and Nathan’s were open. (See comments below for clarification.) As far as we know, the last time a presidential candidate campaigned in Coney Island was on Labor Day 1960, when the GOP candidate for Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge was filmed chomping on hot dogs at Nathan’s. Fifty years is too long between campaign stops.
Eldorado Auto Skooters Sign by Steve Powers, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. September 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr
Amusing the Zillion 
Wait, I thought that the other rides were still open through October! I was planning to take advantage of NYC public schools’ closed-for-Rosh-Hashana to bring my daughter for one last hurrah at Coney Island before everything closed for the season. But I don’t want to promise her roller coasters and find closed parks instead…
Yes, the parks – Luna Park, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park etc–are open weekends and holidays through October. Check their individual websites for hours. But as always it is Weather Permitting! If there’s a big rainstorm or forecast of threatening weather, the Parks may close because I hate to say it but few people come out on such a day, even if it clears up later. That’s what happened last Wednesday, Only a few indoor attractions remained open through the day and the Cyclones game was played that evening
Thanks for clarifying!