Some great shots of the now defunct Thunderbolt coaster there; it looked like quite a wild ride with those steep twisty drops. It was featured in Woody Allen's film called Annie Hall if I recall correctly (never got to view the actual scene to date though!) I believe a hotel was also, rather surprisingly, incorporated into its structure in the ride's later years.
Sadly I believe the City Council suddenly moved the bulldozers in during a coaster covention meeting out of town in 2000 which supporters were attending, hence no resistance could be arranged that day.
Martin
PS I found another good nostalgic Coney Island site with historic park maps etc at
http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/