April | 2011 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for April, 2011

Photo Album: Whimsical Murals Blossom in Coney Island

Posted in art, Photography, tagged Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Ephameron, NO Longer Empty, OverUnder, Public Art, Veng on April 15, 2011| 4 Comments »

Coney Island Murals by No Longer Empty. April 14, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Our view from Stillwell Terminal of Surf Avenue is changing again. On Thursday afternoon, we were riveted by a series of photos tweeted by “No Longer Empty” from Coney Island. Whimsical and sophisticated murals of faces, fish, water, beach-goers and divers were blossoming on Thor Equities blue construction fence. At the same time, Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy took a series of photos of the murals, which he posted on flickr.

NLE’s Facebook page explains, “Partnering with the Economic Development Corporation, No Longer Empty brought in OverUnder and Veng and Ephameron to brighten the streetscape in Coney Island.”

Based on the work at Ephameron’s website, she’s the woman contemplating her work in the above photo. The old-fashioned looking faces were painted by Veng, who says he borrows from techniques of the Northern Renaissance and looks to capture the feel of something made long ago. Sorry, We’re Clothed
appears to be OverUnder’s work. (Veng has since confirmed that our guess was correct!) There’s a piece about the artist on the blog Brooklyn Street Art which describes him as “an illustrator, painter, and text writer.”

Coney Island Murals by No Longer Empty. April 14, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

We’re thrilled to see Art instead of “Post No Bills” on Thor’s fence. It’s a good solution to distract people’s attention from the construction fence and the empty lot where the century-old Henderson stood. But we have to wonder if Joe Sitt is paying the artists or reimbursing the City for the cost? Construction has been delayed on the site because the DOB “DISAPPROVED” the building plans as many as 16 times over the past six months. As we have noted many times, Sitt evicted amusement operators from Stillwell in 2007 to “allow the new development to proceed in a timely manner,” but has built NOTHING here except a failed flea market in 2009.

Last April, the Coney Island Development Corporation installed fence wraps advertising Coney’s attractions on the City’s then-empty parcels on the Boardwalk side of Stillwell. Since Thor Equities Stillwell lots had remained vacant, the CIDC got permission to install the wraps on Thor’s property as well. The advertising campaign did a good job of hiding what remained of Thor’s tent structures from 2009’s failed flea market. Empty No Longer’s murals will hide Thor’s newest empty lot.

Coney Island Murals by No Longer Empty. April 14, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Who is “No Longer Empty”? According to their website…

No Longer Empty (NLE) is a comprised of arts advocates, curators and artists who orchestrate public art exhibitions in vacated storefronts and properties in New York City. The non-profit organization was conceived as an artistic response to our present economic condition and to revitalize empty spaces and areas around the venues by bringing thoughtful, high-caliber art installations with accompanying programs to the public.

Locating art in unexpected places in the public domain suggests new models of community art that are different from major institutions and galleries. Committed to art as a positive component for community and cultural development, No Longer Empty conducts outreach into the community to contribute meaningfully and bolster the local businesses through the increased flow of visitors that these exhibitions attract and by arranging programs such as panel discussions, music and performance evenings, children’s workshops, artist conversations and more.

Coney Island Murals by No Longer Empty. April 14, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

These exhibitions could not have happened without the vacant spaces being generously donated rent-free by the landlords. The exhibitions and art chosen or created are site specific in the sense that they reflect such issues as the former use or history of the site, the nature of the neighborhood and, of course, the specific features of the space. Both established and emerging artists have been selected for the exhibitions, benefiting our audiences with rich variety and discovery.

In regard to reflecting such issues as the former use or history of the site, there may be some ghosts that need to be appeased. ATZ recommends that NLE and the artists view historian Charles Denson’s video tribute to the Henderson Theater, the recently demolished vaudeville house that occupied the site for a century. How about a visual “tip of the hat” to Harpo Marx, who made his stage debut here as one of “The Four Nightingales” with his brothers Groucho, Lou and Gummo?

Coney Island Murals by No Longer Empty. April 14, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney Island Arcade Debuts Cobra, Braves Loss of Arcade

Posted in Amusement Game, tagged arcade game, boxing machine, coin-op amusement, Coney Island Arcade, lost arcades on April 13, 2011| 7 Comments »

Say Hello to the Coney Island Arcade's Cobra! April 2, 2011. 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

You’ve heard of the Bronx Zoo’s Cobra aka Missing In Action, the twitter sensation and New York’s most celebrated snake. Say hello to the Coney Island Arcade Cobra! Though it’s gone unreported till now, Brooklyn has a cobra too and you can safely interact with her because she’s an arcade game. The cobra-themed “Boxer” is the newest model manufactured and distributed under the Coney Island Boxer brand by Coney arcade owner Manny Cohen and his partner Stanley Fox.

Cohen and Fox have already introduced the 300-pound machine to the amusement industry at trade shows from Vegas to China, but last week the game made its debut on Coney Island’s Bowery. You’ll find the Cobra in front of a tiny stand with a handful of other games.

As you can see in the above photo, the sign for the Coney Island Arcade was resurrected. Unfortunately the arcade on 12th Street will not be rising from the ashes of the fire that destroyed it last May. ATZ has learned that the burned ruins of the building, which are a blight on the Bowery, may finally be demolished in the next few ~~months~~ weeks.

The Coney Island Arcade Cobra and Pretty the Cat Hang Out . April 2, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island Arcade is the name of the arcade that Cohen has operated for more than three decades at 12th Street and the Bowery in the heart of Brooklyn’s world-famous amusement area. Since the fire, he has continued to operate games on the Bowery, but there’s space for only a handful of arcade machines. Alas, the Coney Island Rumor Mill is saying the owner of the building has no plans to rebuild.

What’s more, penalties for “Class 1 – Immediately Hazardous” and “Class 2 – Major” ECB (Environmental Control Board) violations relating to fencing and failure to maintain the building are pending and must be resolved before a demolition permit can proceed. The Coney Island Arcade fire was our number one story of “Amusing the Zillion’s Top 10 Coney Island News Stories of 2010,” ATZ, January 1, 2011.

We’re sad to report that if Cohen is unable to find another location, his 12th Street arcade will join the ranks of Coney’s lost arcades. Among the arcades that have closed due to the redevelopment of the past few years are Astroland’s three arcades and the Fascination arcade in the now-demolished Henderson Building. Coney Island’s last remaining arcades are located in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Eldorado on the Bowery.

Nobody was around to feed money to the cobra when we took these photos. She’s hungry! Stop by and play on Coney Island’s opening weekend. The boxer game is a 21st century version of the classic bag-punching machine. The concept is a classic—many manufacturers such as Sega (1960) and Zamperla (1980) have produced similar machines since the heyday of the penny and nickel bag punchers.

“This is a new and better form. We knew it would make money,” Fox told me when I wrote a story about their then-new business for IAAPA’s Funworld Magazine in 2005. “If you get a good score you’ll hear cheering. But if you do poorly, it’ll say something like ‘that was a chicken blow.'”

The Coney Island Arcade Boxer is available in eight languages and features three types of games play, speed measurement, power measurement, tournament mode and high score display. The game is popular at amusement parks, bowling alleys, pool halls, sports bars and nightclubs. Hey, you can even buy one of these babies for your home rec room.

Coney Island Arcade and Games, 30-19 West 12th Street, Coney Island, 718-372-8811

Flickr Slide Show: DNALSI YENOC –> CONEY ISLAND

Posted in Photography, Redevelopment, tagged Amy Dreher, Barry Yanowitz, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, DNALSI YENOC, flickr group, Joe Sitt, Lindsay Wengler on April 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

DNALSI YENOC is CONEY ISLAND spelled backwards. The letters frame the view as visitors exit Stillwell Terminal onto Surf Avenue. “After seeing two of my flickr contacts take amazing shots of this within a week, and having taken a photo of it myself, a flickr group was inevitable,” writes photographer Barry Yanowitz, who started the group almost a year ago. Contributors include Coney Island photographers Bruce Handy, Amy Dreher, Lindsay Wengler, agent j loves agent a, and me-myself-i.

In recent months, the favorite view of this flickr group has changed irrevocably due to Thor Equities demolition of the century-old Henderson Building and the Shore Hotel. As I commented on Lindsay Wengler’s latest photo in the pool: The emptiness where Henderson used to be is hard to look at, but I also dread whatever Thor will put there next.

Buried in today’s NY1 interview with Joe Sitt about the Aqueduct flea market that he’s bringing to his lots on Stillwell Avenue was one sentence about his newest empty lot: “This week he will give the site a new start, laying in foundation for a one-story building to use as an indoor amusement and retail space next summer.” Next summer? What about now? No reason was given for the long delay in construction.

As we wrote last week in “Thor’s Coney Island: Building Plans ‘Disapproved’ by DOB” (March 31, 2011), Sitt has yet to break ground because the DOB “DISAPPROVED” the building plans as many as 16 times over the past six months. Sitt also says in the interview that his dream is to build a hotel, but it will take seven years to put in the electricity and the utilities and the infrastructure that’s needed. Sounds like another excuse by the real estate speculator to keep the lot empty. Zamperla managed to build the new Luna Park in just 100 days.

Enjoy the view, both present and past. Here is one of my favorites by photographer Amy Dreher. The Fascination sign, which greeted visitors year round for over 50 years went dark and will never be seen again, except in photos and videos.