In about fifteen minutes, at noon today, Astroland’s gates will slide open for perhaps the last time ever. (There is word of a rally as well.) There will no doubt be many reporters in attendance to record the sad event and it will be well documented in both photos and videos. But is it really the end? We went through this last year and, at the last minute, developer Joe Sitt and Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert (who sold to Mr. Sitt for $30 million in 2006, precipitating the demise of her park) reached an agreement on a one-year lease. The same might still happen this year, of course. Thus far, there seems to be resignation about the closure rather than some of the outrage that was apparent last year. The city officials who could help pressure the developer into promptly clearing up Coney Island’s future and protecting it between now and the start of any development, which is years away, have been strangely silent, expressing sadness that Astroland is closing. On Friday, we wrote that “The premature death of Astroland would be from a gun fired by Mr. Sitt, but with a weapon supplied by the city itself.” Astroland’s rides, as we originally reported yesterday and as was noted on the Coney Island Message Board, are up for sale online. (A day before our, uh…how to put this…uh, friends at the New York Post “broke” the same story.) Astroland will be open through the evening and may stay open after 7 for those wishing a last hurrah. If you’ve never been, go. If you love it, go to pay your respects. And, if the lease ends up being renewed, we can all do this again next year.