Photo Album: Heroic 24/7 Race to Build Coney Island’s New Luna Park

April 14, 2010 by Tricia

“Walked past the park tonight at 8:30 and the floodlights were on and the backhoe was digging,” photographer and Coney Island resident Bruce Handy writes in a Tuesday night e-mail. “See my photostream, 4 night photos.” The four pix are part of his flickr set called The Birth of Luna Park.

Luna Park, 24/7. April 13, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Back in January, when we got the scoop that the park would be named Luna Park “like the first, the only, the inimitable one…,” Zamperla President and CEO Alberto Zamperla characterized the next few months as “a race against time.” Over the past week it became apparent to residents that construction crews were laboring virtually 24/7. A heroic effort is underway at the former Astroland site to make sure that Coney Island’s new Luna Park is ready to open on Memorial Day Weekend. May 29th is just 44 days away!

Luna Park, 24/7. April 11, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flick

At the moment, mounds of dirt are everywhere as site prep work continues night and day. Utility lines are currently being installed. “Every time I have viewed the site they have been working, except Sunday afternoon and night,” says Bruce, who notes that workers were even on the job at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning!

From Birth of Luna Park Set. April 6, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Except for this peephole, the construction fence is completely covered with safety netting. But the Q train is a great vantage point for taking photos. Last month, Bruce took the following photo which soon appeared on Luna Park’s blog with the explanation that the mystery pipes were actually part of a detention tank being installed underground to collect storm-water runoff.

From Birth of Luna Park Set. March 19, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Last month, a press release on Zamperla’s website said the company is 100% focused on Coney Island. “Antonio Zamperla SpA, world leader in the amusement industry as ride manufacturer and park operator, has left the company set up in 2007 with the Italian group Thorus to acquire and operate the amusement park in Capriate San Gervasio, Bergamo, Italy, later renamed Minitalia Leolandia Park, and is now fully focused on the re-launch of the historically significant Luna Park of Coney Island, New York.”

We’re wowed by Zamperla/CAI’s round-the-clock work schedule and single-minded commitment to Coney Island. Can’t wait to see the new park take shape as the rides begin to arrive. The park will have 19 new Zamperla rides including the prototype “Air Race,” a Mega Disk’O and a Vertical Swing. “The new Luna Park has been designed to reflect the spirit and personality of today’s Coney Island, while capturing the original look and feel of its namesake,” according to a press statement released yesterday. “With no entrance fee, Luna Park will be fully accessible to those who prefer games to rides, or to those simply taking a stroll down the Boardwalk.” We fully expect to be dazzled when we walk through its soon-to-be famous gate.