Coney Island Boardwalk 8 Lease Deal in the Works for 2011

February 15, 2011 by Tricia

Easter Brunch at Paul's Daughter on the Boardwalk. April 4, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Looks like the Coney Island Boardwalk may not be corporatized and Sodexo-fied this summer after all! Sources tell ATZ that the Mom and Pops known as “The Coney Island 8” who have been fighting eviction since November are being offered leases for the 2011 season by amusement operator Zamperla. The lease is said to be prepared and waiting for the parties to sign on the dotted line on or before February 16th. That’s tomorrow, when both sides are due back in court for the hearing that was postponed from last month.

The deal has been on our radar for the past few weeks, which is why we’ve been uncharacteristically silent on the subject. Sources have been telling us the lease has many stipulations, including a confidentiality clause, and the deal could go either way. If the deal gets done, we predict Zamperla will once again be seen as the good guy for giving up their strong arm tactics of recent months. Out with the old, in with the new will be postponed till 2012 and visitors will again be able to enjoy a beer at Ruby’s Bar and french fries at Paul’s Daughter. Shoot the Freak is expected to move to a new location to make way for the Boardwalk entrance of Zamperla’s new Scream Zone, but the rest of the businesses would reopen in their current locations.

Shoot the Freak on Fourth of July. July 4, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The one-year reprieve for the Mom and Pops would end on November 1, 2011, when they will be required to pack up and go. The lease is said to be for the same amount of rent as previous years. Ruby’s, Paul’s Daughter, Cha Cha’s and others paid $100,000 for the season. An additional season would give the businesses an opportunity to set aside some money for moving costs and time to find a new location. Zamperla’s Central Amusement International has a 10-year lease on the City-owned property. As ATZ first reported last year, Zamperla also has an exclusive contract with Sodexo for food and facilities management.

Sources tell ATZ the lease stipulations include a confidentiality or nondisclosure clause, which would restrict the Coney Island 8 from making public statements about the situation. It won’t be the first time these businesses had to agree to zip their lips to keep their spot on the Boardwalk.

When Thor Equities owned the Boardwalk property, the majority of businesses had leases with a confidentiality clause prohibiting all public comments about the redevelopment of Coney Island, not only for the term of the lease, but for three years after its termination. Violation of this clause would have resulted in immediate eviction and a $10,000 fine for each instance of a violation. This clause prevented the businesses from participating in the public hearings that ultimately determined the rezoning and the future of Coney Island.

Ruby's Bar & Grill, Coney Island. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

With 62 days left till Coney Island’s official opening day, we applaud a deal that insures the Boardwalk will be open for business. At the same time, that doesn’t let the City and its quasi-governmental agencies in charge of Coney Island redevelopment–the Economic Development Corporation (NYEDC) and the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC)–off the hook for not including a provision for local small businesses when the City made their lease agreement with Zamperla.

In regard to the Boardwalk operators prospects, City officials were less than candid from the day the property was purchased from Thor Equities. At the press conference, which we watched live, Shoot the Freak owner Anthony Berlingieri posed a question to the Mayor, who was taken aback. The question was “Is there a place for us?” NYEDC’s President Seth Pinsky, who is a very slick talker, stepped up to the mike to reply. Pinsky said “Our intention is for the foreseeable future to keep all the tenants in place, certainly through next summer [2010]. And we’re going to be looking to work with each of you to figure out where it makes sense for the various tenants to remain as we build out the amusement park.”

Interestingly, that part of the press conference was excised from the version that went up on the web. If a reporter from the Brooklyn Paper hadn’t followed up with a story, it would have been excised from history.

As it turns out the EDC and their satellite the CIDC did not work with each of the businesses to see where it made sense for them to remain. Apparently the EDC figured out it didn’t make sense for the Boardwalk tenants to remain, but neglected to tell anyone except Zamperla. We called out Pinsky on this quote on ATZ and twitter when he had the nerve to tweet “Support your local small business” just as Paul’s Daughter was throwing their goodbye party. We invited him to the party, but of course no one from the City would show. City officials, both elected and appointed, refused to support or say a word to the press about the small local businesses booted off City-owned property in Coney Island. It will be interesting to see what if anything City officials will have to say about the new leases and future prospects for the Boardwalk Mom and Pops.

UPDATE March 8

Yes, all eight of the Coney Island 8 signed the agreement that will allow 7 of them–Shoot the Freak is out– to lease their Boardwalk locations for one final summer before they exit quietly. We tweeted our reaction this morning. What else is there to say? If you want more info on why the Mom & Pops are being forced out, read our posts on Sodexo.

AmusingZillion
In 2010 @NYCEDC got $100K rent from Ruby’s but only $11.25K from Sodexo 4 rent on City-owned property bought for $95.6M http://bit.ly/gNPci3

AmusingZillion
Happy we’ll be able to drink @ Ruby’s, eat @ Paul’s Daughter this season. But deal nothing to celebrate. #ConeyIsland small biz on way out

UPDATE March 6

Tomorrow, March 7th, the Coney Island 8 and Zamperla are due back in court over the Boardwalk evictions. A one-year lease deal ihas been in the works for weeks. Will they all sign?

UPDATE February 15, 7:07 pm

New York Mag’s Grub Street just talked with Coney Island Island 8 attorney Marc Aronson who says: “We’re working on something that’ll be an amicable resolution for all the parties and something that’ll be really just for both sides, and we’re really close.” He says he expects tomorrow’s court date to be postponed for a weeks, “at which point we’ll finalize the details of the stipulation or agreement.”

Grill House, Coney Island Boardwalk. Last day of season, Oct 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Related posts on ATZ…

January 20, 2011: Sodexo Investing $2.4M in Zamperla’s Coney Island

November 23, 2010: Meet Sodexo: Luna Park Coney Island’s Partner for “On-Site Service Solutions”

November 1, 2010: Out With the Old in Coney Island: Only 2 of 11 Boardwalk Businesses Invited Back

April 14, 2010: Photo Album: Heroic 24/7 Race to Build Coney Island’s New Luna Park

Posted in Redevelopment | Tagged Boardwalk, Coney Island 8, Zamperla | 14 Comments

14 Responses

on February 15, 2011 at 4:46 pm | Reply Lindsay

Oh, I really hope an agreement is made. It would be so wonderful to have these businesses back on the boardwalk for 2011!!!!!!
on February 15, 2011 at 4:57 pm | Reply Tricia

I think it’s probably in everyone’s best interest to make a deal. The court date is tom’w so we should hear soon!
on February 15, 2011 at 5:07 pm | Reply Bogframe

If this goes down the way you say, it will be as fair a settlement to this PR nightmare as we can get. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Long live the Boardwalk 8!
- on February 15, 2011 at 5:19 pm | Reply Tricia
  
  PR nightmare is right!
on February 15, 2011 at 5:52 pm | Reply Out Walking the Dog

Fingers firmly crossed for a deal that benefits the 8.

And I LOVE that last photo.
on February 15, 2011 at 8:05 pm | Reply wendyvee

Hoping this is good news … I just hope they’re not signing any future rights away with this deal. (Though perhaps, there just aren’t any future rights to loose at this point)
on February 16, 2011 at 2:00 am | Reply Marty Wombacher

I still hate the fact that the only get one more year, but it’s better than nothing and will give them some time to figure out what to do. One thing I’m going to do if they get this year is go out there a lot more this last season and spend my money at their places and I hope everyone else does too. If they have to go out, let’s see them go in a blaze of glory with enough cash to relocate.
on February 16, 2011 at 2:49 am | Reply Arthur Raphael

One Year?
Sorry that’s just not enough of a lease renewal! This was not about a little renewal – this was about preserving the unique historical and special flavor that defines Coney Island. Let’s not win this little battle just to surrender the war!
This fight for the preservation of the historic and accessible Coney Island should not be given up for the small appeasement of a one year – then demolish agreement.

Arthur Raphael
MrArtTuro[AT]GMail[DOT]com
on February 16, 2011 at 8:44 am | Reply Eileen Burgess

One year is not enough!
on February 16, 2011 at 12:51 pm | Reply glamma

to have another beer at chacha’s is my DREAM COME TRUE> Go Coney Island 8!!!!!!
on February 16, 2011 at 5:52 pm | Reply Marc Kehoe

Good News?
The Boardwalk 8 get one more year, and Zamperla comes out
smelling like processed cheese spread? That’s good news?
on February 16, 2011 at 6:46 pm | Reply Tricia

The Brooklyn Paper reported that today’s hearing was further postponed till March 7. CI8 Attorney said they expect to have a deal by then.

@Elaine Your feeling that “one year is not enough” is clearly shared by many. Gothamist called it “A Dead End Deal” and L Magazine’s story is titled “Coney Island 8″ Likely to Receive One-Year Reprieve, Big Fucking Deal ”
on February 25, 2011 at 7:28 am | Reply Elsewhere « Visualingual

[…] Coney Island Boardwalk 8 Lease Deal in the Works for 2011: Brooklyn’s Coney Island will have mom-and-pop shops on the Boardwalk this one last summer. […]
on February 28, 2017 at 12:22 am | Reply Elsewhere | Department of Everyday Visualingual

[…] Coney Island Boardwalk 8 Lease Deal in the Works for 2011: Brooklyn’s Coney Island will have mom-and-pop shops on the Boardwalk this one last summer. […]