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Coney Island's AstroTower Being Checked for Stability Issues, Officals Said

By  Jeanmarie Evelly and Ben Fractenberg | July 2, 2013 6:12pm | Updated on July 2, 2013 11:28pm

 Emergency officials were called to Coney Island Tuesday after reports that the  AstroTower was swaying.
Emergency officials were called to Coney Island Tuesday after reports that the  AstroTower was swaying.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

CONEY ISLAND — Emergency workers checked the AstroTower for structural problems Tuesday after reports that the defunct Coney Island funride was swaying, officials said.

The FDNY and the Office of Emergency Management were called to Luna Park at 4:20 p.m. to check on a stability issue at the structure, both agencies said.

A Fire Department spokesperson said people were being evacuated from the area around the AstroTower, including Surf Avenue between West 10th and West 12th streets, all of Luna Park, the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel, while emergency workers investigated.

Luna Park marketing manager Nicole Purmal said that in spite of the evacuation, park officials believe the structure is stable and that it's normal for the 275-foot tower to give a little on each side.

"It's usual to see the AstroTower have a sway," she said, saying a tourist or someone else not accustomed to the sight of the tower's slight movements may have called emergency officials.

The AstroTower is inspected once a year, Purmal said.

Stanley Kantonist, 65, has lived near Coney Island for more than three decades and said it's normal to see the structure sway a few feet in either direction on windy days.

"Through the hurricane it didn’t fall down, so how will it fall down now?" he said.