Sunday was the last day for Astroland, the amusement park on Coney Island. Its owner, Carol Hill Albert, announced Thursday that she was calling it quits, despite hopes of a last-minute lease agreement with Thor Equities, which had been competing with the city for the 3-acre Brooklyn site.

"Despite rumors to the contrary, there are absolutely no negotiations going on, and there never were," said Albert, whose family was the owner of Astroland for almost half a century.

According to CNN, Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman said the company was “extremely disappointed that Carol Albert has decided to give up on the future of Coney Island when her current lease isn't even up for a number of months.”

The park almost closed a year ago, but eventually, Thor, the owner of the land under the park, made an agreement with Astroland for a one-year lease extension that expires January 31, 2009.

This year, Albert wanted a two-year lease, to cover the summers of 2009 and 2010, so she could offer her 300 employees more job security, but she was repeatedly told the company had no answer to give her. Her spokesman, Joe Carella, said Albert decided to close Astroland when she understood that Thor had no intention to negotiate with her.

When hearing the news that Astroland would be closed for good, thousands of visitors of all ages poured Sunday into the park, to enjoy the fun rides for the last time. Many of them were nostalgic, as they had great childhood memories of that park and were upset to see that another vestige of New York would be wiped out.

However, this is not the end of rides at Coney Island, as the Cyclone wooden roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel, which are both city landmarks, will continue to function next year.