April | 2012 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for April, 2012

Photo of the Day: Easter Bunnies in Coney Island

Posted in Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged Bunny headgear, Coney Island, Easter, Easter Sunday on April 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Easter Sunday on the Boardwalk. April 4, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island’s Palm Sunday opener is a warm-up for Easter Sunday, among the busiest days of the season for the amusement rides and games if the sun shines. And it is! Today’s weather tweeted by NY1: “Lots of sunshine on this Easter morning. Expect temps around 53 by noon and reaching 62 as an overall high!”

Never mind the Easter bonnet, bunny headgear is hot in Coney Island aka Rabbit Island. According to dictionary.com’s “What’s the difference between a bunny, a rabbit, and a hare? (What does it have to do with Coney Island?),” until the 18th century rabbits were called coneys and Coney Island is one of the only references that is still used in North America. Hope we don’t miss you in the throng!

Cheers! First Drink at Relocated Cha Cha’s of Coney Island

Posted in Food & Drink, Redevelopment, tagged bar, Cha-Cha's, Club Atlantis, restaurant, Surf Avenue on April 7, 2012| 4 Comments »

First Drink at Relocated Cha Cha's of Coney Island. April 7, 2012. Photo © Diana Shumate

Today, Cha Cha’s of Coney Island served its first drink in its new location on the north side of Surf Avenue across from Nathans Famous. Opening day is Easter Sunday at 12 noon, when longtime bartender Mila will host her first Bloody Mary Sunday of the season, toasted by friends. The address is 1315 Surf Avenue, the space formerly occupied by Surf N Turf Grill.

Brick-oven pizza at $2.00 per slice along with beer and drinks will be served, says Diana Shumate, who sent us these photos. The restaurant will be open weekends only for the next few weeks while renovations are underway. A more extensive menu is planned, Cha Cha says. Cha Cha’s Club Atlantis, a beach bar similar to the original and with the atmosphere of a reincarnated Beer Island, is expected to open at Stillwell Avenue’s BK Festival. Live music will be featured at both the Surf and Stillwell locations.

Last October was the last hurrah for John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia’s “Home of Wild Women and Wise Guys” on the Coney Island Boardwalk. One of the “Coney Island 8” evicted by Zamperla, Cha Cha’s former Boardwalk location was the site of the original Club Atlantis and is slated to become Tom’s Restaurant.

The good news is that in addition to family-owned Brooklyn establishments like Tom’s of Prospect Heights and Grimaldi’s Pizzeria opening in Coney Island, the majority of the original “Coney Island 8” eateries are coming back this season. Ruby’s Bar and Paul’s Daughter were offered 8-year leases by Zamperla and are currently undergoing renovations. Steve’s Grill House sold his building to Zamperla, bought a concession trailer and plans to relocate nearby. Gyro Corner Clam Bar has a second location at the corner of the Bowery and 12th Street.

Chalkboard sign for Cha Cha's of Coney Island. New Location is 1315 Surf Avenue, the former Surf N Turf Grill. April 7, 2012. 2012. Photo © Diana Shumate

Photo of the Day: Granville T. Woods Memorial Trolley Pole

Posted in history, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island Hall of Fame, Granville T Woods, Stillwell Avenue, trolley, trolley pole on April 4, 2012| 5 Comments »

Trolley Pole from the 86th Street Line on Stillwell Ave at Mermaid Ave. March 23, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Outside McDonald’s in Coney Island is Stillwell Avenue’s last remaining trolley pole, a vestige of the 86th Street trolley line which went from Bay Ridge to Coney’s Stillwell Terminal and ended in 1948. Located at the corner of Stillwell and Mermaid Avenues, the trolley pole is now used by Mickey D’s to advertise lunch specials, but we’re naming it the Granville T. Woods Memorial Trolley Pole because this street corner happens to be Granville T. Woods Way. It appears to be the last trolley pole on Stillwell Avenue.

Granville T. Woods invented the overhead conducting system which made the trolley possible. He held more than a dozen patents for electric railway technology including a power distribution system first tested and demonstrated to the public at Coney Island in 1892. In 2008, the African American inventor was honored with the street naming and was inducted into the Coney Island Hall of Fame.

As far as we know, Coney Island has forty-four surviving trolley utility poles. In February, ATZ wrote about the loss of two century-old poles on Surf Avenue and the 43 that remain on Surf (“Thor Destroys 119-Year-Old Relics of Coney Trolley History,” ATZ, February 21, 2012). When trolley service on the Surf Avenue-Seagate line ended on December 1, 1946, the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce requested that the poles on both sides of Surf Avenue be left in place in the amusement area to be used for holiday decorations.

Stan Fox, the former owner of Playland Arcade, told ATZ that about ten years ago, Charlie Tesoro of the Chamber asked him to count the poles on Surf Avenue. “There were sixty-four,” says Fox. “Since then some have fallen down. Others were removed.” The ones in front of MCU Park were removed when the stadium was constructed, he says. Fox updated his trolley pole census and said there are currently 43 poles on Surf Avenue as well as this solitary pole on Stillwell Avenue.

Brooklyn & Queens Transit Trolley 2585 on 86th Street line in front of Stillwell Avenue Terminal, between Mermaid & Surf Avenues. August 11, 1944. North Jersey NHRS Collection via Coney Island Island History Project