Dick Zigun, who is the head of Coney Island USA and often referred to as the Unofficial Mayor of Coney Island because of his long tenure in the amusement district, is quitting the board of the Coney Island Development Corp. Mr. Zigun has been a voice of the amusement industry (to the extent one can represent the many Coney factions) but had become increasingly dissatisfied as the city significantly altered its original Coney redevelopment proposal. Today’s Daily News reports:

Zigun said he would bow out of the 13-member Coney Island Development Corp. to protest a revised city development plan he charged could include a shopping mall near the center of the 47acre plan. “This spring, without the CIDC ever having a discussion or ever taking a vote, the strategic plan that I had been a major cheerleader for was totally changed and compromised in a way that no amusement park lover could possibly be happy with,” said Zigun, founder of Coney Island USA, which runs a world-famous sideshow.In a blistering attack, Zigun said that the revised city plan would also mean a significantly smaller amusement park if passed by the City Council next year…”The CIDC plan promised a world-class tourist attraction with an entertainment core – lots of rides complemented by year-round nightclubs and enclosed water parks,” said Zigun in a letter to Mayor Bloomberg. “Instead the core will now be rezoned for a shopping mall full of Niketowns, Toys ‘R’ Us and four 30-story hotels.”

e will have the full text of Mr. Zigun’s strongly-worded resignation letter coming up. The plot thickens.