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June 12: Rally to Save Coney Island Ladder Co. 161

Posted in Events, tagged Coney Island, Dreamland fire, FDNY, firehouse closings, Ladder Company 161, rally on June 11, 2011| 3 Comments »

Coney Island Funny Face insignia on Ladder Company 161 Fire Truck. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The fire trucks of Ladder Company 161 in Coney Island have a modern version of Steeplechase Park’s Funny Face and amusement rides as part of their insignia. Their slogan is “The Best Ride in Coney Island.” Now the ladder company, which opened in 1927 and is as old as the Cyclone roller coaster, is on the Mayor’s list of 20 New York City fire companies to be closed in July due to City budget cuts.

On Sunday, June 12, at 12 noon, City Councilman Domenic Recchia, Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny will join members of the community at a rally to save Ladder Company 161. The rally is being held outside the firehouse at 2929 West 8th Street off Surf Avenue.

Ever since the first Steeplechase Park burned down in 1907, Coney Island’s infamous fires have been in the headlines. Last May, the fire that destroyed Coney Island Arcade at Bowery and West 12th Street was the no. 1 story of “Amusing the Zillion’s Top 10 Coney Island News Stories of 2010.” . The arcade was a total loss and has since been demolished, but it was the only building damaged by the fire thanks to the fine work and fast response time of FDNY 161 and 153.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the fire that destroyed Dreamland Park. On May 27, 1911, the signal ‘TWO NINES’ was sounded for the first time in Brooklyn, calling out 33 companies and 250 men in a race to Coney Island.

“It’s tragic and ironic that the city is cutting a vital Coney Island ladder company on the 100th anniversary of the Dreamland fire, one of the worst disasters to strike a community known for deadly fires,” said historian Charles Denson. “Ladder Company 161 is essential to a neighborhood that’s jammed full of high-rises, has 15 million visitors a year, and has towering amusement rides that can only be reached by high ladders in an emergency.”

Upcoming rallies throughout the city are listed on the website of the Uniformed Firefighters of Greater New York.

Update, June 12th, 8:40 pm…

Coney Island photographer and resident Bruce Handy attended today’s rally and sent this link to his flickr slide show. All of the local pols were there. In addition to Councilman Recchia and Congessman Nadler, we noticed State Senator Diane Savino, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and several members of Community Board 13.

Update, June 14th…

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that “Ladder Co. 161 is the only tower ladder in Coney Island and one of only a dozen 95-foot ladders citywide. It is responsible for 2.5 miles of beach, businesses and a major concentration of high-rises, many of which house seniors in an isolated area.”

Update, June 29th…

DNAinfo reports “The City Council voted in favor of a $66 billion budget deal Wednesday that saves teachers’ jobs and prevents fire company closures, but forces other cuts across the board.”

The 100th Anniversary of the Dreamland Fire. Coney Island History Project Exhibition Center. Photo © Charles Denson Archive

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Pop Up Piano Returning to Coney Island Boardwalk

Posted in Events, Music, Music Video, tagged Coney Island Boardwalk, Luke Jerram, Pop Up Pianos, Sing for Hope, street piano on June 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The Piano Has Been Drinking. July 5, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Last year, British artist Luke Jerram’s “Play Me I’m Yours” project brought 60 pianos to New York City parks, including the Coney Island Boardwalk, in collaboration with local arts organization Sing For Hope. A couple of weeks ago we heard via twitter that the pianos –88 of them this year– were returning on June 18th.

We started looking for photos and videos of the Coney Island piano from last summer to include in a post. In addition to our friend Bruce Handy’s black and white shot of the Boardwalk piano waiting for a player, we found these entertaining videos of Manny Panta’s rendition of Joplin’s “The Entertainer” and Sandy Santra’s solo piano improvisation. “Play Me, I’m Yours was a dream come true for me: playing piano on the streets of New York in just about every location imaginable,” wrote Santra on the Play Me I’m Yours website.

The street pianos will return on Saturday, June 18th, for another two-week run. When ATZ visited Sing for Hope’s website in May, we liked the idea that one could reserve a date for a “Pop-Up Concert” at any of the locations. That option is not currently available, though on the Coney Island Piano’s page, someone has scheduled a concert for June 18 at 1:30 pm. “Sarah LeMieux will sing jazz and blues standards and originals! Visit her on MySpace and ReverbNation.” She’s going to be playing to a packed house–it’s just before the Mermaid Parade gets underway!

This year’s project is called “Sing for Hope’s Pop Up Pianos” instead of “Play Me I’m Yours!” because the arts organization has taken the artist’s original concept and made it its own. A story in today’s NY Times City Room describes “discordant notes” between the artist who originated the project and Sing for Hope, which led to a parting of the ways…

The artist, Luke Jerram, said his idea of putting a batch of pianos outdoors and letting anyone play them had spread to more than 20 cities. But he said the arts group that oversaw last year’s installation in New York — and is overseeing this year’s — had told him, “We don’t want you to come.”

We’re baffled and dismayed. But don’t let it keep you from playing the piano in Coney Island or anywhere else in New York. Somebody should bang out “Who Stole My Blue Suede Shoes” and dedicate it to Luke Jerram.

Coney Island 2011: Free Movie Screenings on the Beach

Posted in Events, film, tagged Coney Island, free event, Movies on the Beach, Rooftop Films on April 27, 2011| 2 Comments »

Rooftop Films outdoor movie screenings include such venues as the roof of El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. Photo © Dillon DeWaters via Rooftop Films

UPDATE… JULY 9, 2012… The 2012 season of Coney Island Flicks on the Beach began on July 2 and continues on Monday nights through August 6. The schedule includes Bound for Glory featuring David Carradine as Woody Guthrie, Woody Allen’s Manhattan, and Jim Henson’s The Muppets. Full schedule at “Coney Island 2012: Free Movie Screenings on the Beach” (ATZ, July 9, 2012).

Rooftop Films, a nonprofit which has been showing underground films outdoors in New York City since 1997, will bring free movie screenings to Coney Island’s beach this summer. The Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC), NYC & Company and EpixHD are partnering with Rooftop to launch the new Coney Island Film Series.

Lela Scott-MacNeil of Rooftop Films tells ATZ that the Coney Island screenings will be free of charge and the program is being put together especially for the new venue. “It is not part of our regular summer series,” said Scott-McNeil. When details of the Coney Island program are announced, ATZ will post an update.

Rooftop’s 14th Summer Series of “Underground Movies Outdoors” includes 25 feature films and over 150 short films in themed programs. Screening venues include Fort Greene Park, Socrates Sculpture Park and the roofs of Brooklyn Tech, El Museo del Barrio and Brooklyn Grange in Long Island City. According to Rooftop’s website: “We couple films with venues, and connect artists with audiences so that each event is unique and memorable.”

A tip of the hat to our friend Brian Hedden of the South Brooklyn blog BK Southie, who wrote in January, “Dear Luna Park, make this happen, movies at the beach.” Today he says: “Hey, I’m glad someone was listening back when I was begging for beachside movies!” ATZ urges BK Southie and everyone else to keep the ideas coming for event programming in Coney Island. Your idea could turn out to be the next new thing! We also ask our readers: What movies would you like to see on the big screen at Coney Island’s beach?

UPDATE, May 16, 2011…

NYC & Co. announced the schedule for the new film series today. Coney Island Flicks on the Beach will be shown on Monday nights at sundown on the beach between W 10th and W 12th Streets. The series begins on July 11 with Saturday Night Fever. Here’s the full schedule…

July 11 - Saturday Night Fever (1977)
The ’70s disco-kid flick stars a young John Travolta in an Oscar-nominated performance as Tony Manero, a Brooklyn teen who works a dead-end job and suffers from “night fever,” but knows how to boogie it off. The film is famously set in NYC, largely in the now-closed Bay Ridge disco 2001 Odyssey.

July 18 - Rango (2011)
This animated comedy-western follows Rango (Johnny Depp), a domesticated lizard, as he stumbles upon a town in the Old West and winds up becoming sheriff, only to brave a rattlesnake showdown.

July 25 – Top Gun (1986)
Revisit the time when Tom Cruise was Maverick, a too-cool-for-school Navy fighter pilot recruit, fueled by the need for speed. The hit film celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

August 1- Iron Man 2 (2010)
Now that the world knows the double identity of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) as the armored superhero, everyone wants the Iron Man technology. Stark refuses to hand it over. But the evil Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) has built his own weapon to retaliate.

August 8  – Annie Hall (1977)
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton star in this romantic comedy as a neurotic yet charming New York couple who fall in love after an awkward meeting, flirt in Central Park, argue over lobsters in the Hamptons and, eventually, split.

August 15  – Moonstruck (1987)
Cher plays Loretta, a widowed, 30-something Brooklyn bookkeeper who, while indifferently engaged to Johnny (Danny Aiello), falls for her fiancé’s estranged brother, Ronny (a young, hairy and angry Nicolas Cage).

August 22  – Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011)
Watch the Biebs prepare for his first sold-out show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. This documentary is titled for his song and mantra: “Never Say Never.”

August 29  – How She Move (2008)
After her older sister dies suddenly, a talented teen flubs her chance at a private-school scholarship and moves back home to her family’s crime-ridden neighborhood. But after she earns a spot on a respected step crew, she discovers how her dance skills can deliver the future she dreams of.

When the weather is iffy, check the Coney Island tweeters on Coney Island Fun’s list for updates here.