August | 2010 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for August, 2010

Can You Help Identify this Window into Coney Island’s Past?

Posted in Artifacts, history, tagged antique window, Charles Feltman, Coney Island USA, Feltman's on August 22, 2010| 8 Comments »

On Saturday we chatted with Luke Stangarone in front of Coney Island USA, where he was cleaning a stained glass window, one of two which the Sheepshead Bay resident is donating to the Coney Island Museum. Rescued from three feet of mud in a Park Slope basement, the windows originally came from Coney Island’s Feltman’s complex, says Stangarone. The tantalizing question is which part of Feltman’s? Stangarone speculates the windows could be from the ballroom or the carousel pavilion. He says that his wife’s relatives, the Whittakers, worked at the Parachute Jump and rescued the artifacts from Feltman’s demolition more than 50 years ago. Can you help identify this window into Coney Island’s past?

Charles Feltman is famous as the inventor of the hot dog, but his entertainment complex on Surf Avenue was multi-faceted and covered a full city block. According to the Coney Island History Project, which has a 120-year-old chair from Feltman’s Maple Garden on display, the Feltman empire included nine restaurants, two bars, a ballroom, an outdoor movie theater, a hotel, a beer garden, a bathhouse, a pavilion, a Tyrolean village, a carousel, a roller coaster called the ZIZ and the maple garden! Since Feltman’s closed in 1954 and was demolished to make way for Astroland Park in 1962, you’d have be over 60 to remember going there. Perhaps someone will recognize the window from family photos that show the stained glass window in the background. Let us know if you have any clues!

Thor’s Coney Island: Crack of Dawn Demo Work Attracts Scrutiny

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged asbestos abatement, demolition, DEP, Department of Environmental Protection, New York City, Photography, Thor Equities on August 19, 2010| 9 Comments »

At the Crack of Dawn, Work on Henderson Building, 5:30 am, August 18, 2010

This morning at 5:30 am, Thor Equities work crew continued demo and asbestos abatement work on the doomed Henderson Building across from Nathan’s in good old Coney Island. A few courageous photographers ventured out to document the worksite, despite the fact that one was threatened by a worker who tried to grab his camera on Tuesday. Now it’s safety in numbers! The above photo of the Bowery side of the Henderson Building arrived via email just after 6 am. We asked the photographer: what were they doing to the awnings? The answer was “they were tearing them down.” This appears to be the case if you look at the photo below taken 3-1/2 hours later of the same scene. Unfortunately the DOB has to see the violations happening and photographic evidence seems to count for nothing.

Since photos of Thor’s workers hammering away at the Henderson Building were posted on Monday, Coney Island’s Community Board 13 has questioned the Dept of Buildings (no permits have been issued for demolition) and Dept of Environmental Protection (a permit for asbestos abatement has been issued, though it was not displayed at the worksite). It appears that public scrutiny has led the crew to beef up their asbestos safety procedures. In the first photo, for example, there’s a sheet of material covering the sidewalk, which was not the case on Monday.

One photographer writes: “Took some photos today, Thursday 8/19/10, at 9 am, most taken from the Boardwalk side. They are working on the theater, south side of building. Looks like they are using a staircase to bring stuff up to the roof. All the workers are in air tight suits, see the yellow boots. They are laying out white plastic sheets on the roof and dumping stuff into the white sheets, tying up the sheets and stacking the rolls.” Okay DEP, we would like to know if the City is doing “Ambient air monitoring” to measure airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in the general vicinity of the worksite. Unlike the DOB website, the DEP site provides no information to the public on permits that have been issued. Readers may want to take a look at the DEP’s “New Asbestos Rules & Regulations, effective June 6, 2010.”

Before we go anywhere near Surf and Stillwell, we plan to take a cue from the workers and suit up in protective clothing. The yellow boots could become a new fashion statement in Coney Island–Lola Star take note! In the meantime, ATZ recommends the Asbestos Safety Kit which we found online for only $43.95 and includes the following items:
• Tyvek® disposable suit with integral hood and boots
• Sleeve covers (1 pair) (White).
• Latex gloves (2 pair)
• Goggles, chemical resistant with indirect vents.(1)
• Respirator (1) (half mask)
• HEPA cartridges (2)
• 6 mil poly bags 3’ x 5’ (4) bags/kit with asbestos warning (not shown)

Luna Park NYC Halloween Gig for Famed Haunted House Creator

Posted in Events, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island USA, Dick Zigun, Halloween, Haunted House, Kate Dale, Luna Park, Timothy Haskell on August 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Timothy Haskell, the Off-Broadway theater director whose annual Nightmare Haunted House in NoHo bills itself as New York’s Most Horrifying Haunted House is coming to Coney Island for Halloween. On August 11, Haskell tweeted: “got the gig to turn Luna Park in Coney Island into a Halloween wonderland. Opens October 15th. Pretty cool.”

Yesterday, Haskell had a meeting with Zamperla/Central Amusements International, the operators of Luna Park, according to his twitter feed: “Going to Luna Park (coney island) to discuss my concepts for the haunted theme I will be implementing. It’s going to be scarecrows!”

Although Luna Park has yet to announce details of their Halloween festivities, the amusement park, which is open daily through Labor Day, will remain open weekends through Halloween, according to a recent post on the Luna Park NYC Facebook page. When reached for comment, Valerio Ferrari, who is president of both CAI and Zamperla’s United States branch, said in two weeks they’ll know for certain if the project is a go for Halloween 2010.

In October Coney Island USA will stage their annual Creepshow at the Freakshow haunted house tour of CIUSA’s building. The show is written and directed by CIUSA founder and Mermaid Parade creator Dick Zigun, who says this year’s theme is “The Ride Inspector’s Nightmare”! The Creepshow’s designer is Kate Dale, whose fabulous creations for the Mermaid Parade have won her “Best Mermaid” and “Best Float” more times than anyone else in the history of the parade.

Let the countdown till Halloween in Coney Island begin!

Happy Halloween!! From Coney Island Creepshow at the Freakshow. Photo © Norman Blake?Coney Island USA

UPDATE September 7, 2010:

Luna Park Presents Nights of Horror…Here to Haunt You is set for Halloween 2010. This banner advertising the event was on display in Luna over Labor Day Weekend…According to a flyer, the event is scheduled for October 15- 31, on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm – 12 am, and on Sundays from 5 pm -10 pm.