Coney Island merchant Dianna Carlin continues her quest to reopen her Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in the abandoned Childs Restaurant building with the first of two fund-raisers tonight.

Ms. Carlin is trying to raise the necessary funds for an assembly permit to cover the whole 60,000-square-foot building -- the cost of which is considerable.  read more »

"It was a great night and it was definitely a huge success by all accounts," gushed Coney Island T-shirt maven Dianna Carlin following last Saturday night's splashy grand opening party at her Lola Staar Dreamland Roller Rink in the abandoned landmark Childs Restaurant building on the boardwalk.

Sponsored by Glamour magazine and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger (promoting a new perfume called "Dreaming"), the event featured appearances by sparkly dressed pop singer Ashanti and pig-tailed actress Marisa Tomei (sporting her own kitschy T-shirt: "I'M PULLIN' FOR PEE-WEE").

"We had 1,000 people RSVP," Ms. Carlin said. "Luckily, not all of them showed up. ... For a while, we ran out of roller skates."

Yet no one has done any skating at the makeshift rink since Saturday's party.

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