Amusing the Zillion

Chainsaw Art and Mulch in Coney Island. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

Mulch for sale by the yard and the buzz of chainsaws are among the unexpected new sights and sounds in Coney Island’s amusement district this season. Chainsaw carvers creating sculptures and mulch made from recycled New York City sycamores removed under contract with the Parks Department will be on a vacant lot next to the Thunderbolt roller coaster on Mermaid Parade Day and the Fourth of July. The artists are from upstate New York and New England and include Susan Peters of Blue Rose Chainsaw Carvings, Ravena, NY; Sue O’Sullivan of Renaissance Girl, Royalston, MA; and Adam Mulholland of Sickline Carving, Windham, CT.

Chainsaw Carvings for Sale in Coney Island. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

ATZ first met the carvers and took these photos on Memorial Day Weekend in Coney Island, where they’d been invited by Roger West of A.2.Z Universal. West is a subcontractor hired by Paul Bunyan Tree Service to help recycle some of the thousands of trees that have been cut down in New York City after Hurricane Sandy. On Memorial Day, the scene on the Surf Avenue side of the lot where the event took place was reminiscent of a rural county fair. Pedestrians stopped in their tracks to watch the carvers shape wood into fanciful sculptures and buy some of the pieces, which range in price from $20 to a few thousand dollars.

Chainsaw Carving on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

An array of finished pieces was on display along with piles of mulch for sale and a towering stack of firewood. The carvings included tikis, totems and Hello Kitty, among others. Insignia of the Brooklyn Cyclones and Gargiulo’s Restaurant found homes at these local businesses. For Mermaid Parade Day, the carvers have been creating an inventory of starfish, seahorses and other sea creatures to sell in Coney Island. The privately owned lot is just west of West 15th Street, sandwiched between Luna Park’s Thunderbolt and Peggy O’Neills.

Chainsaw Carvings for Sale in Coney Island. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

West has already processed a couple of thousand yards of mulch and has enough wood from New York City trees to make 10,000 more yards. “I can ramp up my production but I need an alternative outlet because we’re producing it at a high rate,” says West, who hopes gardeners, community groups, businesses and anyone in the market for mulch will contact him via A2zuniversalLLC[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

Chainsaw Art and Mulch in Coney Island. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita