Mermaid Queen on hunger strike

Coney Island's Mermaid Queen is waging a hunger strike in protest of looming development plans that she said will destroy the amusement mecca's rag-tag, honky-tonk charm.

Savitri D., a Brooklyn artist and community organizer, told the Daily News she'll forgo kelp, fish and everything else mermaids and humans typically eat in a bid to raise awareness about a June 24 meeting in which the controversial plan will be discussed.

"As Queen Mermaid, I've been given a responsibility and I decided on this old-fashioned idea of a hunger strike to draw attention to the meeting," said D., 36, who said she will stop eating Saturday - the day of the Parade - and starve until the meeting at Lincoln High School Tuesday.

City officials unveiled ambitious plans in November for a 15-acre, year-round amusement park, 4,500 new apartments and condos and blocks of glitzy stores along Surf Ave.

But a rift between the city and property owners prompted city officials to revise the original plan in April, which they did by allowing a reduction of parkland and the possible inclusion of so-called "retail entertainment."

"I'm an omnivore so I eat fish like a good Queen Mermaid should," said the Windsor Terrace resident, who opposes the more recent plans. "At worst I'll be grouchy - and I am nervous - but it's worth it if people come."