Amusing the Zillion

Lost Delights of Coney Island: Frozen Custard

January 28, 2012 by Tricia

Frozen Custard from Photographs of New York by Reginald Marsh. ca. 1938-1945, printed 1976. Reginald Marsh. Courtesy AntiquePhotographics.com

When Reginald Marsh photographed Coney Island as the subject for his artwork in the late 1930s and the ’40s, one could still buy frozen custard for a nickel. The dessert made its debut in 1919 when the Kohr brothers, Archie and Elton, opened a stand on the Coney Island Boardwalk. The nickel treat was a sensation, selling 18,460 cones on the first weekend! Kohr’s Frozen Custard is still in business on the Boardwalks at Seaside Heights and Casino Pier on the Jersey Shore. According to the history page of the company’s website, “After many experiments with the formula, Archie and Elton discovered that by adding eggs to the mix, they got a much more stiff, velvety and creamy product which would melt more slowly.”

Today, Coney Island’s ice cream offerings include Denny’s soft serve and Coney’s Cones gelato, but the frozen custard stands of yesteryear are long gone. You have to go to Shake Shack in Manhattan. Or all the way to Utah, where Coneys Custard and Gourmet Dogs won the “Best of State Award” last year. Their signature custard is named after the Cyclone roller coaster.

Like the Whip ride and the game of Fascination, frozen custard is another delight that first saw the light of day in Coney Island, but can’t be found here anymore. Last year, ATZ proclaimed “Bring Back the Whip!” This year we add: “Bring Back Fascination and Frozen Custard!”

Frozen Custard, Etching by Reginald Marsh. 1939. Photo via The Old Print Shop

Dance Video: Ringmasters Crew in Coney Island

January 26, 2012 by Tricia

Brooklyn’s Ringmasters Crew burst into the national spotlight on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew Season 3. Their raw energy and sinuous showmanship are on display in a trio of vids shot by Salvatore D’Alia in Coney Island last July. The Beach, Boardwalk and Pier are the stage for their performance of the Brooklyn born dance style called Flexing. Our fave is the hypnotic “Ringmasters Crew as the sun goes down” set to Lynx’s “Tricksters and Fools.”

The Ringmasters’ mesmerizing moves include Bone Breaking, Hat Tricks, Gliding, Animation, Pauzin (a unique style of Poppin), Connecting (a unique style of Tutting), Original floor moves, Dare Devil Stunts and amazing Punchlines, according to the group’s website. In “Ringmasters Put On A Mind-blowing Show In Coney Island | HOC Flexing Bonebreaking,” you’ll see one of the dancers do a back flip off a roof! The video features Corey aka Gutta Love, Sheik aka Taliibaan Sheik, Roy aka Winiez, Spyda aka Da Hat Mann, Vibez aka Vibez and Jay-Donn aka PunchLine King.

The third vid was shot on the Pier after dark with the lights of the rides glittering in the distance and the dancers as vampires.

Parks Postpones Do-Or-Die Hearing on Coney Concretewalk

January 24, 2012 by Tricia

The Parks Department has postponed to February 21 a hearing to win approval for its controversial plan to pave all but four blocks of the Coney Island Boardwalk with concrete and plastic wood. On Monday night, Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance’s Rob Burstein told ATZ: “I just received an e-mail from the Parks Department’s liaison to the Design Commission informing me that they have postponed the date that they intend to present their proposal to the Design Commission. They will not present on January 30th, as we were originally told, but have tentatively rescheduled for February 21st.”

Since Parks initiated the January 30 date to make their presentation, it appears that they are not yet ready to prove their case for concrete before the Public Design Commission. At the October hearing, PDC commissioners were skeptical of the need to use concrete and said that more environmental and engineering studies were needed to address the questions that they had.

Photos from Friends of the Boardwalk's website show the results of prior projects where the NYC Parks Department used concrete. Photos © Mary Ann De Luca via FOBConeyIsland.com

“Please SAVE THE DATE, so that if it is confirmed we can all once again be sure to be there,” says Burstein of February 21. Public testimony is limited to three minutes per person. For more info, check out our previous post “Jan 30: NYC Design Commission to Meet (Again) on Coney Island Concretewalk,” (ATZ, January 20, 2012).

On Saturday, January 28th at 3pm, Burstein’s group and Friends of the Boardwalk are having an informational meeting at Brighton Beach Library. Email Rob Burstein at robburstein[AT]Hotmail[dot]com for details.

Meanwhile, an online petition to “Keep the Boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk–No Concrete” launched this month has eight-hundred-and something signatures and a goal of 5,000. If you didn’t sign yet, don’t complain when your feet ache from walking/jogging on the Concretewalk. Of course, if the Boardwalk does get paved, images like photographer Bruce Handy’s exquisite “Boardwalk Slats in the Snow” and “Sand on the Boardwalk” will be a rare sight.