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Coney Island Rumor Mill: Amusement Park Coming to Thor’s Lot

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island 2015, Coney Island Rumor Mill, Thor Equities on November 4, 2014| 7 Comments »

Thor Equities vacant lot on Coney Island’s Bowery at West 12th Street. November 2, 2014. Photo © Tricia Vita

It’s not surprising that the Coney Island Rumor Mill’s latest rumor is virtually the same one we hear every year–that amusement rides are coming to one of Thor Equities CEO Joe Sitt’s vacant lots next season.

The woeful looking lot on the Bowery is adjacent to Luna Park’s Scream Zone and within sight of the new Thunderbolt roller coaster. One corner of the lot was occupied by McCullough’s Kiddie Park until October 2012, when the 50-year-old park’s long-term lease expired. The rest of the lot was part of Batting Cage and Go Kart City, which also featured bumper boats and a miniature golf course, and was evicted by Thor Equities in 2006. The last time a carnival came to this lot was 2012. The platform of the abandoned MegaWhirl ride remains.

According to the Rumor Mill, the construction of underground utilities are expected to get underway in preparation for a new amusement park to open in the spring. The Coney Island amusement area’s Palm Sunday opener– March 29th– is in 145 days. Despite various amusement operators efforts to negotiate lease deals with Thor Equities in the past, the lots remained vacant this year as well as in 2010 and 2013, when the City issued a stop-work order on a permit for “temporary parking for the amusement district.” We’ll tag this story #HopeSpringsEternal.

Thor’s Coney Island: Aerial view of vacant lots on south side of the Bowery between W 12th and W 15th where amusements once thrived. July 7, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Amusement Rides Return to Staten Island’s Beachfront

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Fantasy Forest Amusement Park, Fantasy Shore Amusement Park, Midland Beach, Ny Carousel Entertainment, Parks Department, Staten Island on June 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

This Spinning Tea Cup is one of four children’s rides at new Fantasy Shore Amusement Park in Staten Island. Photo by NY Carousel

Staten Island’s east shore, where Ferris wheels, coasters and carousels were awhirl in the early 20th century, has its first seaside park since South Beach’s Beachland Amusements closed after 65 years. Fantasy Shore Amusement Park in Midland Beach opened last weekend for “preview days,” which continue on Thursday and Friday from 11am till 6pm. The grand opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for June 28th.

The new kiddie park opened with four rides: Tea Cups, Train, Frog Hopper and a mini-roller coaster christened the Verrazano Viper. Fantasy Shore is run by NY Carousel Entertainment, which answered the Parks Department’s RFP (Request for Proposals) to develop and operate a children’s amusement park for a 12-year term. The park is on Father Capodanno Blvd at Seaview Avenue, adjacent to Midland Beach Fishing Pier.

Queens Motor Speedway Ride at Fantasy Forest Amusement Park.
Flushing Meadows, Queens. Photo by NY Carousel

The company also operates two historic Queens carousels in City parks in Flushing Meadows and Forest Park. Last year, NY Carousel added a mini-amusement park called Fantasy Forest at Flushing Meadows, including Queens’ only roller coaster, a family ride called the Corona Cobra similar to the one in Midland Beach. On Memorial Day weekend, the Queens park debuted a new ride called the Queens Motor Speedway inspired by the Kiddie Whip ride manufactured by the Mangels Company in Coney Island. (more…)

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Photo Album: Coney Island’s First Taste of Summer

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Brooklyn Cyclones, Coney Island, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Luna Park, Mermaid Parade, Pet Costume Contest, roller coaster, summer, Thunderbolt on June 17, 2014| 1 Comment »

Grand Opening of Thunderbolt Roller Coaster, Luna Park Coney Island, June 14, 2014. Photo via Luna Park NYC

Summer officially begins on Saturday, June 21st, with the solstice and Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade. This past Saturday offered a taste of summer: the long-awaited debut of Luna Park’s Thunderbolt roller coaster, Wonder Wheel Park’s Pet Costume Contest on the Boardwalk, and the Brooklyn Cyclones season opener followed by the first fireworks of the season. The Cyclones stadium is spectacularly situated with the landmark Parachute Jump on one side and the new Thunderbolt on the other.

Brooklyn Cyclones Season Opener at MCU Park, Coney Island. June 14, 2014. Photo via Brooklyn Cyclones Facebook

ATZ wrote about the Thunderbolt when it broke ground (“High Hopes for Coney Island’s New Thunderbolt Coaster,” March 10, 2014) and as it took shape (“New Thunderbolt Loops the Loop Again in Coney Island,” May 19, 2014). Yet it’s still an astonishment to come upon its steel loops and dips from Surf Avenue. The coaster has the allure of an abstract sculpture and occupies part of a long vacant block where the Drop the Dip, Thunderbolt, and Wild Mouse coasters once thrilled and the Magic Carpet Fun House and Donkey Ball Game amused the millions. (more…)