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Archive for May, 2015

Coney’s Bowery To Get New Midway Games But Can It Get Its Groove Back?

Posted in Amusement Game, amusement park, tagged Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, Bowery, Coney Art Walls, Coney Island, Thor Equities on May 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Stillwell Avenue and Bowery, Coney Island. April 16, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita

It turns out that Dan Biederman’s consulting firm Biederman Redevelopment Ventures was hired by Thor Equities to manage and create programming for two lots in Coney Island. So what’s planned for Thor’s second long-vacant lot, on the Bowery across the street from where Coney Art Walls and Smorgasburg are set to debut? “Our programming is still in flux, though we hope to announce some exciting things next week,” Ben Donsky, BRV’s senior project manager, told ATZ. “There will probably be performances on both lots.”

Since Thor bought the property in 2006 and emptied out the bumper boats, go karts and batting cages, the lot has seen sporadic use, most infamously in 2009 as the failed Flea by the Sea. Its tattered tents can be seen in the photo above.

As for game trailers coming to the lot and kiosks being offered for rent this season, as the Coney Island Rumor Mill has been saying for months: “There are no actual ‘kiosks’ in our plans on the east side of Stillwell, at least right now,” Donsky says. “But Gordon Lee of the Eldorado is going to be putting up midway games along the Bowery.”

Balloon Dart on the Bowery, Coney Island

Balloon Dart, on the Bowery in Coney Island, May 26, 2008. This game did not reopen in 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita

Can the Bowery get its groove back? Or will it get a complete redo? Coney’s Bowery from West 12th Street to Stillwell is a ghost town compared to the crowds it used to attract, particularly since McCullough’s Kiddie Park got pushed out in 2012. As a measure of how much has changed, the spot where the old-school Balloon Dart was located in the demolished Henderson Building is now occupied by the Brooklyn Nets Shop in Thor’s retail building, where Wahlburger’s is opening a rooftop dining area that will overlook the festivities unfolding on the lots this summer.

Slated to open this summer, Wahlburgers will have a rooftop overlooking Thor’s Stillwell lots. April 18, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh to Draw Portraits of Coney Island Residents for Coney Art Walls

Posted in art, tagged Coney Art Walls, Coney Island, Coney Island 2015, Jeffrey Deitch, Joe Sitt, portrait, Public Art, public art project, street art, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Thor Equities on May 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Artist and Brooklyn Resident Tatyana Fazlalizadeh will create a mural for Coney Art Walls

Artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, best known for her public art project “Stop Telling Women To Smile,” put out a call on twitter today: “Brooklyn: I’m looking for Coney Island residents who’d like to potentially be portrayed in a mural I’ll be doing. Any gender or age!” In reply to ATZ’s query whether the work was going to be part of Coney Art Walls, a public art show curated by Jeffrey Deitch on Thor Equities lot on Coney’s Bowery, the artist replied via email with details:

Yes, it’s a part of Coney Island Walls. As one of the many artists who will be creating work, I want to be sure that Coney Island residents are represented in the show.

I’d like to sit with a few people from Coney Island to discuss their lives in the neighborhood. From there I will shoot their photograph and draw their portraits from those photographs. The drawings will then be printed at large scale and installed at the Coney Island Walls. I’d like to meet with people between now and May 19th. I only need about 5-6 people. I’ll be installing the piece during the first week on June.

This process is the same I use for my project, Stop Telling Women to Smile. STWTS focuses on gender based street harassment. The Coney Island piece will look like this (see picture below), with the text potentially being a quote about Coney Island from one of the participants.

If your zip code is 11224 and you would like your portrait to represent Coney Island in a show that is expected to be seen by millions of people this summer, contact the artist at tlynnfaz[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

Mural from Stop Telling Women to Smile Project by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

New Owner of Surf Ave Lot Across from Coney Island Cyclone Seeks Ideas for Seasonal Use

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, Real Estate, tagged development opportunity, north side of Surf, PYE Properties, Redevelopment, Surf Avenue, Vacant Lot on May 6, 2015| 1 Comment »

Lot on the north side of Surf Avenue adjacent to the West 8th Street subway station in Coney Island. May 5, 2015. Photo © anonymouse via AmusingtheZillion.com

The new owners of a long vacant lot on the north side of Surf Avenue directly across from the Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island are seeking ideas for seasonal use. “We’re looking to do something in the short term,” Igor Oberman of PYE Properties told ATZ. Arts and crafts, food market, food trucks, and amusement attractions are a few of the possibilities.

“We’re brainstorming ideas as to what uses we could put the site this summer. It looks like Thor has got the food vendors to come out,” said Oberman, referring to the Smorgasburg vendors coming to Stillwell Avenue. “Any of your ideas would be appreciated.” Oberman may be reached at PYE Properties at igor[AT]pyeproperties[dot]com.

Over the past decade, the vacant lot, which has 140 feet of frontage on Surf and is 90 feet deep, has occasionally been used as a parking lot. For one day in 2011, the lot briefly hosted John Strong’s sideshow until the previous property owners abruptly did an about-face and went back to parking cars.

A kiddie ride park,a go kart track and a flea market housed in shipping containers have occupied the lot in the past. Bumper cars and other amusements were in the building on the site which was torn down in the 1950s. Until the early ’80s the north side of Surf Avenue was home to individually-owned penny arcades and a variety of rides including carousels and even a Jumbo Jet-style coaster.

Vacant lot at 805-825 Surf Avenue, on the north side of Surf across from the Cyclone in Coney Island, May 5, 2015. Photo © anonymouse via AmusingtheZillion.com

The Surf Avenue lot at 805-825 Surf Avenue is Brighton Beach-based PYE Properties’ first acquisition in Coney Island. “We’re looking to develop it shortly,” Oberman said. According to the development company’s website, “PYE Properties is a full-service development company guided by our in-house team of result-driven real estate professionals whose expertise includes acquisition, design, development, construction and property management.”

Since the rezoning of Coney Island, the north side of Surf has seen restaurants such as Grimaldi’s, Applebee’s, and Subway Cafe rapidly replacing furniture stores and vacant lots. A Johnny Rockets franchise is under construction and IHOP signed a lease in February. Mom & Pops on the north side include Chill party space, Red Door Bar & Grill (formerly Coney Island Bar & Grill), and Piece of Velvet Cupcakes.

UPDATE May 11, 2016

PYE Properties, the owners of the Surf Avenue lot across the street from the Coney Island Cyclone, have started advertising for vendors for a flea market set to open in May. Like some of the furniture stores and a cafe on the north side of Surf, it’s named after one of Coney’s amusement parks — Luna Park Flea Market. According to their new website, the price for a spot on Friday, Saturday or Sunday is $50, while other days of the week will go for $30. Read more