A tipster phoned to tell us that Coney Island’s Surf Hotel on the second story of Thor Equities-owned Henderson Buiilding (pictured below in 2009) is being demolished. We’re told yellow tape blocking off the street and a tarp covering the sidewalk were the only concessions to public safety. Workers were ripping out window frames and walls. The Community Board 13 was alerted to the hazardous situation. As ATZ reported previously,Thor Equities has an asbestos abatement permit from the DEP. A demolition permit cannot be issued by the DOB until the asbestos work is certified as complete. We will update the story when more info & photos come in.
Update: We talked with CB 13 Manager Chuck Reichenthal…The bad news is the historic Henderson Building is coming down! The DOB told the CB Manager that Thor Equities does indeed have a demolition permit from the DOB since the asbestos abatement was certified as complete. What are the DOB’s guidelines for demolition? Reichenthal was told there really aren’t any. Yellow caution tape rules!
Here’s the Henderson’s page on the DOB’s website. We don’t see a demo permit, but there’s a two day lag on updates. Permits for construction of a “ONE STORY NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING WITH ASSEMBLY AND AMUSEMENT SPACES” filed yesterday (September 22, 2010) are currently pending.
Update, 3:15 pm… The demo men have quit work for the day, according to a friend who went to the site. Now that the windows are gone, you can peer inside at the tin ceilings and vintage light fixtures. Somebody with a zoom lens please go and document it before it’s gone! We’re told that the original Surf Hotel sign pictured above was removed, though its fate remains unknown. Was it saved, scavenged or thrown out with the windows? BTW here’s a photo of the Henderson Building interior in happier days, before the property was bought and blighted by Joe Sitt. In 2007, the Velocity Nightclub occupied the second floor on the Bowery side of the former Henderson Music Hall until Thor bought the building and evicted them.
Related posts on ATZ…
July 1, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Demolition Under the Radar?
June 14, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Caution! Asbestos Removal at Doomed Bank
April 29, 2010: Photo of the Day: Interior of Coney Island’s Doomed Henderson Music Hall
April 21, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings
March 3, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: What Stillwell Looked Like Before Joe Sitt
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! This is horrible news.
It’s horrible news, but not unexpected. The best we can all do is to be there to document it all and make sure Sitt does this by the rules. If they don’t do the Asbestos abatement right, I’d hate to think what would happen to Nathan’s if Asbestos drifted into the food handling area.
I stopped by on the way home from work. As the photos show, they removed the window frames. Looks like Sitt sold whatever he could from the building, starting with the windows, which were in good condition.. no broken glass… before Sitt had his plywooditis cover them.
One thing to notice… not water stains on the ceilings, no water leaks.
Saw a vintage round flourescent light fixture and a hanging light fixture just with the bulb still.
I took the same photos as shown above, no zoom on my camera cell phone, but probably can blow it up and edit it for a good image of the light fixtures.
The windows on Surf Ave were also removed, the ones where his stores for lease sign are covering them. Its funny that the sign is still there while he removes the windows underneath it.
yes, I agree: it’s horrible news, and it’s not unexpected. But it’s obscene. It’s as if the building is being tortured to death.
I was there this afternoon around 4pm. No workers, no tape, but I took a few pictures and noticed that there are numerous spots on the ceilings where it looks like someone punched holes. It’s a sad state of affairs. I just wonder what happened to Joe Sitt in Coney Island to make him hate it so much as to purposely destroy the few buildings left with any kind of historical value.
its not what happened to him in coney, its what happened to him growing up. he said he wanted a atari and a parrot when he was young, but didnt get it. That started him on his life mission of making money in retail.
After selling the Ashley Stewart womens stores, he created Thor Equity. He now flips property, increasing its value with minimum effort. Upzoning increased the value, but he didnt get all the zoning he wanted, so its now a vendetta for him. Just like Fred Trump went to his grave hating the Parachute Jump, Sitt cant leave Coney with anything standing on the land he owns, before he sells it at a huge profit.
I remember playing At Faber’s when I was growing up. If they don’t have the necessary permits, you can believe it will not be long before someone comes down with an absestos related health issue.
Then it will be lawsuit after lawsuit.
Someone should contact American Pickers. Those guys love old time Americana items. Maybe they can recycle some of the decor in Faber’s.
I am also conerned about all the lead paint in those structures. I could never find any regulations about the release of lead paint. But I do know when they rehabbed the parachute jump, they took extraordinary precautions about the release of lead paint. I also remember Sitt’s demolition of his Stillwell Ave property. The land was littered with paint chips, given how old those structures are, they must have been lead paint.
Sitt will only sell things for top dollar or junk it.
The Surf hotel Sign has been saved!!!!
Can you be more specific? I know the sign was “saved” from demolition there’s a photo if it in the hallway of the Henderson Building on Friday. But where is it now? I hope it hasn’t walked off!
More info on the Surf Hotel sign and others in my Wednesday post “Saved or Not? Signs from Coney Island’s Henderson Building”