Dick Zigun was choosing his words deliberately. Very deliberately. "The cheapskates will get the parade they want." Zigun, who runs the sideshow at Coney Island, was talking about the Mermaid Parade, that opening-of-summer cavalcade of bare breasts, hot cars and King Neptune wannabes that typically draws hundreds of thousands of gawkers hoping the women take off their shirts. This year, Zigun shocked many longtime parade fans by announcing that for the first time in its 19-year history, much of the June 30 parade -- including performances by Zigun's freak show stars, the judging of the mermaid costumes, the traditional removal of said costumes to "persuade" the judges and the crowning of this year's King Neptune Hector Camacho Jr and Queen Mermaid Tobe Ann Ounced (know her?) -- will be seen only by people who purchase a $10 ticket. You read that right: The best parts of one of the city's best public events will be conducted inside KeySpan Park, the new home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, and, more important, outside the hungry eyes of non-paying customers. On a realistic level, the change means nothing: After leaving the stadium, the parade will still march down Surf Avenue. But on a practical level, it means one important thing: You want to see the naked ladies? It'll cost you 10 clams. "I won't buy a ticket on principal," said Seth Kaufman, a longtime Mermaid Parade participant and a respectful critic of Zigun. "The parade is supposed to be an event for the people, but this year's parade separates the haves and have nots." Such critics claim that Zigun's "deluxe package" is a sell-out to the "new" Coney Island -- the forces of commercialization and "Giuliani-ization" that are supposedly amassed behind the sparkling facade the Cyclones' gorgeous ballfield. But Zigun sees it as not a sell-out so much as a BUY-IN -- and the only way to save his debt-riddled, non-profit arts group, Coney Island U.S.A. "The Mermaid Parade is the best day for every other business in Coney Island," Zigun said, "but we've always lost money running it." In true Coney Island spirit, Zigun is smart enough to play out the "controversy" for all its worth, posting the big changes with a pre-emptive announcement on his website (http://www.coneyisland.com) and then blasting anyone not willing to buy the $10 ticket as a "cheapskate." "ALL of the BIG changes have been scrutinized and ratified by the Board of Directors of Coney Island, USA, the not-for-profit that organizes the unorganizable parade, pays the bills of the parade and stays sober to staff the parade the day of the actual parade," Zigun wrote, defensively. "It was OUR IDEA to make all these changes." In an interview, Zigun said that a sell-out crowd at KeySpan Park could finally balance Coney Island, USA's books and allow future parades to be even better. "I take theater and public ritual very seriously, but having a state-of-the-art facility at my disposal instead of having all the crowds pushing and shoving around the reviewing stand is great. The cheapskates who want to watch on the street will get what they pay for." The impulse to cut Zigun a little slack is strong. While others abandoned the famed paradise by the sea, Zigun believed in Coney Island's artistic future and preserved its carny past. During that time, Zigun's Sideshow on the Boardwalk (now since relocated) was the only hope on a strip of seedy bars, hot dog stands and rip-off games. But will his legacy be a Mermaid Parade tainted by commercialism or a perceived surrender to the Giuliani administration, which earned ire for tearing down the defunct Thunderbolt rollercoaster without any warning a few months ago and by unleashing building inspectors last week to shut down some "illegal" Surf Avenue stores that have been there for decades? It's a legitimate question. With the Cyclones ensconced in the mayor's $35-million palace, a clash of cultures between the people in the baseball caps and fans of the sword-swallowing freaks seems unavoidable. Coney's stalwarts feel that the city is putting all its hopes on minor-league baseball rather than the arts to revive the neighborhood. Meanwhile Cyclones fans just feel unwanted. "After reading [the Cyclones-bashing], maybe they chose the wrong location [for the stadium]," Pat Witt wrote on his Cyclones fan club site (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/brooklyncyclones). Witt worries that if Coney Island's mainstays don't embrace the baseball fans, the fans will go to their home games, but not spend a dime at Coney's other attractions. Zigun knows that. So for a mere $10, you get more than a ticket to a parade. You get an E-Z pass on the bridge to Coney Island's future. --30-- email: gershny@yahoo.com