December | 2011 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for December, 2011

Brass Ring Dept: Coney Island “Carousell” RFP Up for Grabs

Posted in Amusement ride, News, Photography, tagged B & B Carousell, B&B Carousell, Brooklyn, carousel, Coney Island, local, Parks Department, RFP on December 4, 2011| 9 Comments »

Painting and signage at B & B Carousell, Coney Island. August 2005. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Wanna grab the brass ring in the new Coney Island? New York City is seeking an operator for Coney’s historic B & B Carousell, which was saved from auction in 2005 when the City purchased the ride for $1.8 million. If you fancy the idea of running it, there’s a proposers meeting on Tuesday at 11 am at the Arsenal in Central Park that you shouldn’t miss. Last month the City’s Parks Department issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) to operate and maintain the restored 1919 carousel at the new Steeplechase Plaza next to the landmark Parachute Jump. Proposals to operate the B & B are due on January 17, 2012. (December 30, 2011 Update: Parks sent out an addendum today to provide a website where available plans may be downloaded and extended the deadline to January 30th)

In the RFP, the $2.00 ticket price for a whirl on the Central Park Carousel is cited as a point of reference for proposers. In 2009, the Central Park Carousel took in $188,123 and the concession fee there is $7,500 per month, according to the New York Post. You may not get rich selling tickets, but the ten-year lease for the B & B also includes a food service facility, merchandise kiosks, vending machines and a special event room, which is expected to be a popular spot for birthday parties.

B & B Carousell, Coney Island. August 2005. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The carousels in Central Park and Prospect Park as well as the horses on the Flushing Meadows Carousel were all relocated from Coney Island, which once had dozens of operating carousels. B & B is short for Bishoff and Brienstein, who brought the carousel back home to Coney Island from New Jersey’s Bertrand Island in 1932. The frame was the work of Coney’s William F. Mangels Carousell Works and the carvings were done by Charles Carmel. Jimmy McCullough and Mike Saltzstein owned and operated the ride since the 1970s.

These snapshots of the B & B were taken with a film camera in August 2005 after the City purchased the carousel. It was the last time that we saw the B & B. The ride was soon packed up and moved from its longtime location on the north side of Surf Avenue and sent to Ohio for restoration. A fairground art collector once told us that the scenic art gracing the B & B and its pavilion was the work of August Wolfinger, a German immigrant who worked closely with Mangels. As a banner painter he was known as “The Michelangelo of the Midway.” Some of the medallions and signs shown in the photos will be back on view when the B & B reopens in Steeplechase Plaza in 2013. The ride will be installed in a glass pavilion with large-scale neon lettering spelling B & B CAROUSELL with a double L, of course.

Alan Jackson Video Shoot on Coney Island Boardwalk!

Posted in Music, News, Photography, tagged Alan Jackson, Boardwalk, Coney Island, country, Eric Kowalsky, Paul's Daughter, So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore, video shoot on December 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

Coney Island remains a popular spot for video and film shoots, even after the amusement parks have closed for the season. On Friday, Nashville came to Coney when country music singer-songwriter Alan Jackson strummed his guitar on the Boardwalk in front of Paul’s Daughter. Thanks to Coney Island photographer Eric Kowalsky for being on the scene and getting these great photos of the video shoot.

The name of the song Jackson was singing is privileged info, but we guess it’s from his upcoming album set for release in the Spring of 2012. The backdrop of the shuttered store and closed-down rides made us wonder if the tune is about the end of summer or perhaps the end of a love affair, as country songs often are. Jackson’s last video “Long Way to Go,” released this summer, is up for Great American Country’s Top 50 Videos of 2011. You can watch it on his YouTube channel.

If the video crew had come a month ago, before Paul’s Daughter’s signage was removed to make way for the new “vision” for the Boardwalk, they could have used a masterpiece of Americana as a backdrop, not just the few signs left behind. The restaurant formerly known as Gregory & Paul’s and its frequently photographed signage were featured in the 1999 music video “Summer Girls” by LFO. It’s sad to see Coney’s hand-painted signage, which has a quirky character and an authentic patina, being forced out by the powers that be. Will the Coney Island Boardwalk remain a magnet for video and film shoots when it’s mostly shiny and new and neon?

UPDATE January 14, 2012…

The video for Alan Jackson’s new single was released yesterday and it’s a beauty! Music Video: Alan Jackson’s So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore

Photo of the Day: Children’s Eye-View of Coney Island

Posted in art, Photo of the Day, tagged children, Coney Island, drawings, library on December 2, 2011| 2 Comments »

This delightful children’s eye-view of the neighborhood is on display at the Coney Island Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Mermaid Avenue. Don’t you just love the way the Wonder Wheel, Cyclone and Brooklyn Flyer are stacked atop a theater building in defiance of perspective? It reminds us of circus acrobats balancing on each other shoulders. But it really does look that way in Coney’s amusement zone, where 62 rides and other attractions are jam-packed into three city blocks.

Also depicted are the Aquarium, Gargiulo’s Restaurant, Dunkin Donuts and a pizzeria. There’s a shopping mall too! Nope, Joe Sitt didn’t open a mall in Coney Island while you were sleeping. Not yet. The kids managed to squeeze Century 21, which happens to be in neighboring Bay Ridge, into their mural. The art is the work of children from the YWCA at P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School After School Program, which serves 120 students from kindergarten to fifth grade.