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By the Numbers: Coney Island New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim 2010

Posted in Events, News, tagged By the numbers, Coney Island, Coney ISland Polar Bear Swim, Dennis Thomas, Freezin for a Reason, New Year's Day, Polar Bear Club, winter swimming on January 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The crowd gets bigger every year at the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Club Swim in Coney Island. Exactly how many Bears and Cubs took the plunge on Jan 1, 2010? How many people were spectating? How much did the charity event raise for Camp Sunshine? (Yep, you can still mail in a check.) Dennis Thomas, the President of the the Coney Island Polar Bears, gave us an update and analysis of the increasingly popular event’s stellar stats. Photos courtesy of Bruce Handy/Pablo 57’s “Coney, January 1, 2010 Polar Bear Plunge” set…

Lou Young of CBS News and Coney Island Polar Bear Club President Dennis Thomas. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Lou Young of CBS News interviewing Coney Island Polar Bear Club President Dennis Thomas. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: Do you know how many people “did it” on January 1st vs last year’s swim? And how many regular members of the Polar Bear Club participated vs. how many swim on a typical Sunday

Thomas: I believe there were over 1000 swimmers this New Year’s. I don’t have any numbers for last year, but it was brutally cold last year and the crowd felt noticeably larger than last year. We have about 140 full-time members in the club. At our weekly swims we have been averaging 80-90 swimmers. I think we had more than 100 there on New Year’s.

Formal Pose, Members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club at New Year's Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Formal Pose, Members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: what are the reasons for the event growing every year? Was this year’s larger crowd due to the 41 degree air temp?

Thomas: I’m not sure why the event is growing. Part of it is just word of mouth. People went last year, told their friends who said, yeah I want to do that next year. Part of it is that Coney Island has been in the press so much lately that it is going through its own revival regardless of the development plans. Crowds out there are getting bigger for all events the past 2 years.

Part of it is our club seems to have a larger media presence than in the past and things like our website make us much easier to find than say, 10 years ago. And somehow we are less portrayed as those idiots on the beach that cause network newscasters to chuckle and shake their heads after a 10 second clip before the weather report. The New Year’s Swim is basically free and open to the public, that might be a draw in the current economy as well. I think it’s all these things that explains the larger crowds.

Huge Crowd at New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: How many spectators were there? And how many people involved with staffing the event including crowd control and safety? We noticed Chuck Reichenthal (District Manager of CB 13) in some pix.

Thomas: Again, it’s hard to estimate the size of the crowds on the beach. I believe someone told me the Fire Dept. estimated 10,000 people. I can’t verify that, but I also don’t doubt it. The entire bay was filled with people. I’m not sure on the numbers of the safety teams but there were 2 police boats, 3 Fire Dept boats, numerous Fire Dept EMT teams, ambulance crews, water safety teams through CERT, 3 kayakers, and at least 5 lifeguards and countless volunteers from the Polar Bear Club.

ATZ: What are latest stats on how much money was raised for Camp Sunshine? People can still mail in checks, right?

Thomas: I don’t have final figures, but we raised somewhere around $28,000 this year, up from last year which in this economy is pretty decent. And yes, people can still make contributions.

Big Babies at New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: Looking at the flickr pix by various photographers it seemed like more people were wearing costumes than in previous years. Maybe that’s just the sort of thing photographers tend to take more photos of? Or maybe there were just more people, more costumes? Do you have any comments or insight about that?

Thomas: The costume thing. Maybe it’s part of the Mermaid Parade spirit and the fact that it is after all Coney Island. We neither encourage nor discourage costumes. People just do that on their own. And it is a holiday, and a bit of an absurd activity. That must play a role in it.

Photo Op, New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club swims at 1 pm every Sunday from November through April. To join them as a guest, show up at the New York Aquarium Education Hall, on the Boardwalk at West 8th Street by 12:30 pm.

Set to Land in Coney Island: Golden Knights Parachute Team, Air Force Week

Posted in Events, News, tagged Air Force Week, August 2010, Brooklyn, Coney Island Air Show, Golden Knights, USAF Thunderbirds on December 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

This is a post on the 2010 air show that was cancelled. Current post on the 2015 New York City Air Show in Coney Island is here.

The U.S. Army’s Golden Knights Parachute team will return to Coney Island to perform in ~~the new air show scheduled for August 28-29, 2010~~, (Cancelled! See Aug 10 Update below) ATZ has learned. We can’t wait to see the inevitable pix of the parachutists with the Parachute Jump in the background! Friends who’ve attended Coney Island air shows of the past (the last one was in 2000) say the jumpers land with unerring precision on targets set out on the beach.

Golden Knights U.S. Army Parachute Team. Photo courtesy of the US Army

The air show will also mark the historic return of the USAF Thunderbirds jet team to Coney Island as ATZ reported earlier this week. The August 28-29 weekend air show will be the culmination of Air Force Week, according to Ted Plana, the Director of Air Operations for the show. The event is the Air Force’s equivalent of Fleet Week and will be a citywide event. “They will be going into the boroughs,” Plana says.

Air Force Weeks were established in 2006 by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and have traveled to different locales including St. Louis, Las Vegas, Sacramento and Los Angeles. The L.A. event featured free events such as spectacular flyovers, aircraft and interactive simulator demos, concerts, a film festival and more. According to the USAF, “The Air Force Week program is part of a proactive initiative to increase communication with the public. Each Air Force week may include community visits and talks by Air Force officials, flight demonstration team performances and displays providing an up close and personal look at the Air Force men and women serving on the front lines.”

Young spectators take a look inside an Air Force Thunderbirds' cockpit at the California Capital Airshow the culminating event of Air Force Week-Sacramento, Sept. 12. Air Force Week-Sacramento is an event using various activities and exhibitions to educate the community about the Air Force's capabilities and missions. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III

Both the Golden Knights and the Thunderbirds released their 2010 schedule on December 8 at the ICAS (International Council of Air Shows) Convention in Las Vegas, setting off a flurry of speculation in Coney Island about the sponsorship of the new event in the People’s Playground.

Plana tells ATZ that the event has been in the planning stages for the past year and a half. “We have been working with the City to get clearances and permits, and then with the Air Force to get the Thunderbirds,” says Plana. Now that the stars of the show are on board, the sponsors are gearing up to officially announce the event.

The last weekend in August was chosen for this family oriented event since people are home and getting ready for school, Plana notes. It’s also a time when attendance drops off in Coney Island. At a recent stakeholders meeting, Coney Island business owners called for more special events in late August to boost attendance. Sounds like they got their wish.

How many people are projected to attend the air show? “A conservative estimate would be 500,000 per day,” says Plana, who notes that more than 2 million people live in Brooklyn and the air show will be visible for blocks beyond the amusement district.

“It will have some of the elements of the Lauderdale show, including stages,” says Plana, who has been Director of Air Operations for the Fort Lauderdale Air and Beach Festival for the past 15 years. The best viewing area as well as the stages are expected to be set up at Stillwell Ave and 10th Street. The air show and the majority of Air Force Week events will be free to the public.

This concludes the week of “Finding out About the Secret Air Show in Coney Island” at ATZ! Drop by next week for the usual news and rumors about what’s going on in Coney Island, ATZ’s first book review and more.

UPDATE August 10, 2010:

We’re sorry to report the Coney Island Air Show could not get all of the necessary permits–a complicated situation by all accounts– and persistent rumors that the air show would be cancelled or “postponed” have turned out to be true. The high cost of police security for the event was also rumored to be a factor. The Thunderbirds and Golden Knights finally removed “Brooklyn, NY” from their schedules. Air Force Week NYC will go on without a Coney Island Air Show. Instead they’re advertising the Aug 25 air show in Atlantic City!

Traveler: Coney Island’s New Air Show Inspired by Air Lauderdale Beach Fest?

Posted in Events, Travel, tagged Air Lauderdale Beach Festival, air show, Coney Island Air Show, Fort Lauderdale on December 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

ATZ has learned that the official contact and Director of Air Operations for the August 28-29th Coney Island appearance of the USAF Thunderbird Air Show is Ted Plana, who holds the same job with Air Lauderdale Beach Fest. He is a 14-year veteran of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. air show, which is set for April 24-25 after a two year hiatus. Will Coney Island’s new air show be anything like its Florida counterpart? And who is the secretive sponsor? One possibility is the AVP Beach Volleyball Tournament, which has previously explored the idea of bringing an air show to Coney Island. Neither Ted Plana nor AVP returned calls requesting comment.

Diamond formation. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform at air show at Barksdale AFB, La. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Denise A. Rayder

We’re thrilled the Thunderbirds will be returning to Coney Island. It looks like Coney Island business owners will be getting their wish for a major event in August. As we reported yesterday in “USAF Thunderbirds Air Show Returns to Coney Island in August 2010,” the Dec. 8th release of the team’s 2010 schedule was the first time that many Coney Islanders in the know, including Dick Zigun of Coney Island USA, had heard of the show. Lynn Kelly of the CIDC told us they did not have any information on this event nor its sponsorship. “It is not a City event according to our colleagues,” says Kelly.

The Florida air show’s Facebook fan page describes the Lauderdale show as “One of the world’s largest spectator events from 1995 to 2007, this two-day celebration features top military and civilian performances along four miles of beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach. A showcase that draws millions each year.” You may want to go down to Fort Lauderdale for spring break and check it out.

According to Air Lauderdale’s Sherry Adams, the principals of the Fort Lauderdale show are not involved in the Coney Air Show. In fact they’re seeking sponsors for their show’s revival and Adams asked me to send some their way! ATZ liked what we saw on the Florida beach fest’s Facebook page, including their retro travel poster, so much that we became a fan.

An article in East Magazine with Air Lauderdale’s Stan Smith and Dan Barnett describes the components of the revival as “Keep the air show, add a beach festival with different acts each year, charge admission which creates a sustainable business model so the departure of one big sponsor won’t end the show as it did in 2007.” The sponsor that departed was McDonald’s, which spent $3 million on the event.

Like Coney Island, the Florida event is staged on a famous public beach. The gated admission area sounds similar to what the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament does when they bring their show to the Coney Island Beach. In fact, the AVP contacted Air Lauderdale last summer about putting on an air show during the volleyball tournament, says Adams. Since the sponsors are keeping quiet, we’re guessing the AVP might be the air show sponsor! But we won’t know for sure till they release their tour schedule for 2010. The AVP tour runs from March through September. In past seasons, the AVP has come to Coney Island sometime in July.

Today, the City of Fort Lauderdale Commission authorized charging $5 for advanced purchase of Air Lauderdale Beach Fest tickets for next April 24 and 25 along Fort Lauderdale Beach and a $10 entry fee the day of the show. Air Lauderdale’s Stan Smith told the Orlando Sentinel:

The air show is free as it occurs in the air. 75% of the beach is free where you can take your cooler and family. We are charging $5 for a beach festival that has a center show view of one of the greatest air shows on earth. Music, food, business exhibitors including a green village featuring new products are part of the experience. Plus extreme sports, kids zones and games and prizes. We think its more than a fair deal. We’re helping charities and celebrating Fleet Week’s 20th anniversary in our “Thank The Troops Zone.”

UPDATE August 10, 2010:

We’re sorry to report the Coney Island Air Show could not get all of the necessary permits–a complicated situation by all accounts– and persistent rumors that the air show would be cancelled or “postponed” have turned out to be true. The Thunderbirds finally removed “Brooklyn, NY” from their schedule. Air Force Week NYC will go on without a Coney Island Air Show. Instead they’re advertising the Aug 25 air show in Atlantic City!