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Bunny Returns to Bulldozed Coney Island Garden, Kitten Euthanized

Posted in Animals, Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged Alley Cat Allies, Atlantic City Boardwalk, cat rescue, community garden, Coney Island, Empty Cages Collective, kitten, rabbit on January 8, 2014| 5 Comments »

Runaway bunny returns to bulldozed Coney Island Community Garden. January 7, 2013. Photo by Carolyn McCrory

The rabbit and the cats who ran off during the December 28th pre-dawn bulldozing of the Coney Island Community Garden, where they were cared for by the gardeners, have been spotted. “It is so sad to see them sitting on the barren land,” said Carolyn McCrory, who sent us a photo of the yet-to-be-rescued bunny, a white rabbit with black ears.

It’s distressing to imagine a domestic rabbit left to fend for itself in wintry Coney Island. All the more so because the place was named Conyne Eylandt –Rabbit Island– by the Dutch after the wild rabbits that lived here in the 17th century. This runaway rabbit, who fled when developer iStar bulldozed the garden after Christmas to make way for an amphitheater project, is the only one of its kind. He went back to the garden looking for shelter but found none. Did the bunny survive yesterday’s freeze? [Update: After several sightings, the bunny was finally “netted” by a rescuer on January 18th and is safe.]

Kittens from community garden ended up at ACC, where one was euthanized and these two were rescued by Empty Cages Collective. December 30, 2013.

Another sad story is that of a mother cat, a calico who has been seen returning repeatedly to the bulldozed lot looking for her kittens. As ATZ previously reported, when a gardener collected her chickens she also walked off with three kittens. As it turns out, the next morning a cat carrier with the kittens was left on the boardwalk in front of the demolished garden. Pleas for help were posted on Facebook but before a rescuer could get there, the carrier was picked up by the City’s Animal Care and Control, which is a kill shelter.

PJ McCosky of Empty Cages Collective, who has recently rescued several cats in Coney Island, was alerted and rushed to ACC to save them. One sickly kitten had already been euthanized. The other two kittens were rescued and are now in the care of Empty Cages foster homes. The kittens were about four weeks old when found and need to be bottle fed.

Empty Cages Collective is an all-volunteer organization. You can support the work they do for New York City’s animals by donating or volunteering to become a foster home and following their Facebook page.

Kitten from bulldozed community garden brought to ACC and rescued by Empty Cages Collective. December 30, 2013.

Since ATZ began covering Coney Island in 2009, the colonies of cats have been pushed farther west by the dismantling of Astroland and the demolition of vacant buildings such as the Henderson and the Playland Arcade. The construction on the Boardwalk at West 21st Street is causing further displacement. While there are many people feeding the cats, there is much more that needs to be done. With the new year and the new pro-animal rights administration of Mayor de Blasio, we would like to see a program modeled on Alley Cat Allies Atlantic City Boardwalk Cats Project. Since 2000, the national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and humane treatment of cats has cared for the feral cat colonies along the boardwalk as part of a city-supported Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. According to their website, Atlantic City Boardwalk’s famous cats draw visitors and admirers from all over the country. Can’t we do the same for cats on the Coney Island Boardwalk?

Coney Island Boardwalk Kitty, September 28, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Coney Island Tourism Initiative Gets $225K from Gov. Cuomo

Posted in amusement park, Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Island, economic development, Governor Cuomo, New York City, REDC, Regional Economic Development Councils, RFP, The One and Only Coney, tourism on December 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Alliance for Coney Island’s Poster for the 2013 Friday Night Fireworks. Photo via Facebook.com/coneyislandfun

Coney Island tourism was one of the winners in the third year of Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils competition. An award of $225,000 to the Alliance for Coney Island for improvements to the tourism initiative “The One and Only Coney” was among 824 statewide projects receiving a share of $715.9 million in New York State economic development funding.

“The campaign aims to draw tourists by marketing and expanding seasonal events and programs that will reintroduce Coney Island as America’s Playground, furthering the appeal of Coney Island as a tourism destination,” according to a release from the Governor’s Press Office. New York City received $57.4 million, including funding for a tech incubator in Queens and program expansion and improved accessibility at New York Botanical Gardens.

Johanna Zaki, Alliance for Coney Island’s Director of Operations at a presentation on the 2013 season at Tom’s Coney Island. November 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Founded in 2012, the Alliance for Coney Island is a successor to the Coney Island Development Corporation. The non-profit’s mission is “continuing the transformation of Coney Island into a year-round, world-class recreational oceanfront destination while improving the quality of life of the entire Coney Island community.”

Current opportunities on the organization’s website include RFPs for a creative agency/graphic designer firm as well as for fireworks shows and outdoor movie screening vendor services for the annual Flicks on the Beach program for 2014. The Alliance is also seeking sponsors for programming.

Free events such as Coney Island’s Friday night fireworks are currently supported by funding from the Alliance’s founding members. In the past, Schaefer Beer sponsored free Tuesday night fireworks from 1949 till they pulled out in 1968, writes Charles Denson in Coney Island: Lost and Found. The Village Voice sponsored the much-missed Siren Music Festival, a free indie rock concert from 2001-2010.

This promotional short “Coney Is…” showcases the Parachute Jump’s new lights, restored B&B Carousell and future improvements at the New York Aquarium. “The One and Only Coney” is Back, it says.

Dec 4: Coney Island Amphitheater on Calendar at City Planning

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, historic preservation, Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged amphitheater, Childs Building, Childs Restaurant, iStar Financial, landmark, NYCEDC on December 3, 2013| 4 Comments »

Childs Building, Proposed Elevation Boardwalk. GKV Architects, PC and Higgins Quasebarth & Partners via NYCEDC

Visitors to Coney Island frequently ask “What are those ruins on the Boardwalk?” From Steeplechase Pier, where the crumbling walls are not evident but the allure is unmistakeable, they simply ask “What is that building?” On Wednesday at 10:00 am, the City Planning Commission at 22 Reade St. will consider and is likely to approve the plan to convert the former Childs Restaurant building on the Boardwalk, a New York City landmark, into an amphitheater for live concerts and a restaurant. If the board votes yes, as expected, then it goes to the City Council on Dec 16

The project’s official name is “The Seaside Park and Community Arts Center” and it would also “provide the community with additional publicly accessible recreational and entertainment opportunities throughout the year,” according to the proposal. The application was submitted by property owner iStar Financial (AKA Coney Island Holdings) and the City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC).

Anyone wishing to speak at the hearing is requested to fill out a speaker’s slip at the staff desk outside the hearing chambers. Remarks are limited to 3 minutes. The full agenda of the meeting –the Childs Building is “Nos. 9-14”– and information on submitting written statements can be found in the calendar[pdf].

section Looking at Stage, Childs Building in Season. GKV Architects, PC and Higgins Quasebarth & Partners via NYCEDC

As previously noted (“Clock Ticking on Plan for the Landmark Childs Building,” ATZ, September 25, 2013), the City has the funds to bring the landmark back to life since Borough President Marty Markowitz will be able to use $50 million set aside in 2010 for a $64 million amphitheater in Asser Levy Park that was halted by a lawsuit. Since then, his free Seaside Concerts have been held on the Washington Baths site, a vacant lot across 21st Street from the Childs Building.

If the $50 million isn’t spent by the time the Borough President’s third term ends on December 31, 2013, it would go back into the public coffers and be lost to Coney Island. The landmark building’s deteriorating condition is also cause for concern. After Sandy, parts of the terracotta facade cracked and began falling off. A sidewalk shed was installed this summer.