Coney’s zoned-out furniture stores to close

Four Coney Island furniture shops rendered outliers when the city rezoned Surf Avenue two years ago are finally shutting down. According to the Brooklyn Paper, all four stores — Coney Island Furniture, Lago Furniture, Astroland Furniture and Home Décor on the Surf — put up signs this week advertising liquidation sales. The Bloomberg administration began requiring “entertainment-related retail” on the strip two years ago as part of its effort to transform Coney Island into a tourism mecca, and said last year that it would investigate whether that meant the furniture stores were illegal. It’s not clear whether the city is the force behind the closures, but last December, the Department of Consumer Affairs slapped the four stores with $14,500 in fines for breaking retail rules, so it wouldn’t be the first crackdown. [Brooklyn Paper]