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Joe Sitt Is Prez of Heritage Museum, But It’s Not in Coney Island

Posted in historic preservation, history, Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, heritage museum, Joe Sitt, Joey Coney Island, Thor Equities on September 14, 2010| 2 Comments »

Thor Equities phone # dwarfs Shoot out the Star. Jan 1, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Thor Equities phone # dwarfs Shoot out the Star on Henderson Bldg. Jan 1, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

News to us: Joe Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, the real estate speculator whose destruction of four historic buildings in Coney Island is currently underway, is into history after all! Today we learned that Sitt is president of a history museum. The Sephardic Heritage Museum, incorporated as a “non-profit or religious entity” in Delaware in 2005, had nearly $3 million in assets according to last year’s filing. The address listed for the museum is the same as Thor Equities office. The museum is not yet open to the public, we were told by a gentleman who answered the phone at a Lakeland, New Jersey number listed on the web. The filing states: “When the museum opens, it will maintain and publicly display objects of historical, cultural and religious significance to persons with Sephardic Jewish descent and their heritage.”

ATZ was tipped off to the existence of the fledgling museum via an invitation to a film screening at Lincoln Center that was forwarded by a reader. The invite says: Joseph J. Sitt & The Sephardic Heritage Museum present a premier screening of “The Syrian Jewish Community.” The first ever documentary film tracing our history. October 24, 2010. 6:00 PM screening of the film. LINCOLN CENTER, Avery Fisher Hall. Tickets on sale now $30 to $150. All proceeds go to The Sephardic Heritage Museum. All tickets are tax deductible.

Founding a museum and supporting a documentary film devoted to one’s heritage are commendable efforts. We just wish Joe Sitt showed a similar interest in the historical and cultural significance of Coney Island’s amusement district and the properties that he owns there. The Grashorn Building, Coney Island’s oldest structure, built in the 1880s; the 1923 Bank of Coney Island, the 1903 Shore Hotel and the former Henderson Music Hall have a date with the wrecking ball.

Coney Island's Oldest: Built in 1880s, Grashorn Building in 1969. Photo © Charles Denson via Coney Island History Project

In “Four Coney Island Buildings to Fall,” Friday’s Story of the Day on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website, Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman said, “These are ramshackle structures, eyesores.” Historian Charles Denson countered by citing the Parachute Jump, which had been described by detractors as “an eyesore” and “dangerous” in the years prior to its rehab and landmark designation. In the article, Juan Rivero of Save Coney Island noted that an engineer has offered to assess the buildings’ structural integrity free of charge, if Thor Equities is willing to grant access to the buildings. How about it Joey Coney Island?

Thor’s Coney Island: Faber’s Fascination Goes Dark After 50 Years

Posted in Artifacts, historic preservation, tagged arcade, Coney Island, Fascination, Henderson Building, Nat Faber, Save Coney Island, signage, Thor Equities on September 9, 2010| 35 Comments »

Last Night at Faber's Fascination. Henderson Building, Coney Island. Sept. 6, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

After more than 50 years, the fabulous lightbulb lettering on the front of Faber’s Fascination, an arcade that was one of Coney Island’s oldest year-round businesses, will no longer light up Surf Avenue. The arcade’s last day of business was Labor Day. On Tuesday, arcade machines were being hauled out and trucked away. The sign is the last vestige of Nat Faber’s arcade empire, which dates back to the 1930’s, though the Fabers got into the business in the early 20th century. The iconic marquee is on the front of the historic Henderson Building, owned by Thor Equities and currently being subjected to pre-demolition asbestos abatement. Faber’s was the last remaining tenant in the building.

Faber's Fascination. Photo © Mister Pony via flickr

Faber's Fascination sign in 2006 photo. © Mister Pony via flickr

Nat Faber’s arcade once occupied the entire first floor of the Henderson Building. Faber’s Sportland had the corner location where Popeye’s Chicken flourished for the past two decades. Faber’s amusement empire once encompassed arcades on Coney’s Boardwalk and at Surf and Kensington Walk, as well as Rockaway’s Playland, Long Beach in Long Island and the heart of Times Square. In 1935, according to a report in the Billboard, “Following a year’s preparation, Nat Faber opened the showiest sportland in New York’s Times Square. Flags and bunting decorated the front and a series of ads in the New York Times heralded the opening. This is the fourth sportland Faber opened between 1933-1935.”

Last Night at Faber's Fascination. Henderson Building, Coney Island. Sept. 6, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

In 1939, Faber’s Fascination in the Henderson Building got its name written in blazing, chasing lights! By the early 1950’s the arcade was advertised as the only air-conditioned place of its kind in Coney Island. Nat Faber installed 48 new Fascination tables and new balls, and flashed the place with merchandise brought in from Los Angeles. He prided himself on having the top mike man in Coney Island. Faber’s Fortune next door got redone as Faber’s Sportland with Skeeball, Shuffle Alleys and Pokerino.

Most establishments encouraged patrons to book or open a points/coupons savings account within the store - as evidenced by the reverse side of this Faber 's Store ticket. Back in the mid 1950s, Faber boasted that they had been in business for 40 years and were operating in such places as Coney Island as well as the Seaside and Edgemere sections of the Rockaways. Photo & caption courtesy of rockawaymemories.com

Stan Fox, whose brother operated four arcades in Coney island, recalls Faber telling him, “There isn’t room on the Boardwalk for another arcade.” Stan’s brother coolly replied, “You’d better shut yours down.” In those days, Coney Island was busy enough to accommodate more than one Fascination parlor. In addition to Faber’s, there was Moe’s Fascination operated by Moe and Sadie Silverman. There was Eddie’s Fascination. A lot of people ask Stan Fox, who was Eddie? If you know, please drop us a line. But Faber’s was the one with longevity. The location in the Henderson Building was operated by the Faber family until 1971 or 72.

“When Hy Singer bought the building he tripled the rent,” says Fox, who notes that Nat Faber’s son Stanford, then in his 40s, struggled to keep the business going. “I don’t know if it was the stress, but he had a stroke and a few weeks later he died.” While the game Fascination hasn’t been played at the Surf arcade for decades, the sign, and its twin, Faber’s Playland, remained. Somebody, anybody, please rescue the Fascination sign! We contacted Tod Swormstedt, founder of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, who assured us that this type of sign can be saved.

On Monday night, a skeleton surveyed the soon-to-be closed arcade. Henderson Building, Coney Island. Sept. 6, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Too bad the City doomed the Henderson building as well as the former Bank of Coney Island to demolition last July by rezoning the parcels for 30-story high rise “hotels.” If ATZ had a dollar for every time we’ve used the word “doomed” to describe a building owned by Joe Sitt, we could buy a round of Coney Island lagers for everyone in the Freak Bar and proceed to cry in our beer. Instead we urge you to join Save Coney Island’s David vs. Goliath effort to convince the powers that be to re-purpose the building as part of a historic district. Last month the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation wrote that “the historic core of Coney Island appears to meet the criteria for listing to the Registers as a historic district.”

UPDATE September 11, 2010:

Coney Island signage: Faber's Fascination signage coming down! Photo © missapril1956 via flickr

As we noted yesterday in the comments below, the letters have been removed from the Fascination sign and the two Sportland signs! The signs are being dismantled piece by piece and saved from Thor’s demolition by Carl Muraco, who owns the arcade. He told ATZ that he plans to sell the letters and possibly the entire Fascination sign if there is a buyer for it. The arcade machines are also for sale. We hope that these Coney Island artifacts end up in the collections of people who appreciate them, including the Faber family. We’re happy the arcade owner was able to take down and “save” the signs from demolition. At the same time, it’s heartbreaking to see the building being emptied of tenants and stripped of its personality. The sign on Popeye’s was also removed. It makes the impending date with Thor Equities’ wrecking ball seem that much closer. As soon as the ongoing asbestos abatement is completed and certified, Thor will be able to get a demolition permit.

Photo Album: Thor’s Men Hammer Away at Henderson Building

Posted in historic preservation, Redevelopment, tagged Henderson Building, Joe Sitt, Juan Rivero, Save Coney Island, Thor Equities on August 16, 2010| 2 Comments »

Men at work on roof of Thor Equities owned Henderson Building, morning of Aug 16, 2010

A Coney Island photographer took this set of photos around 9 am this morning of men at work on the roof of Thor Equities-owned Henderson Building. The former music hall where Harpo Marx made his stage debut is at the corner of Stillwell and Surf, directly across the street from Nathan’s Famous. What are Thor’s masked men up to? Asbestos removal or demolition? If it was not demolition work, but asbestos abatement, does yellow caution tape protect the public from inhaling asbestos fibers and dust? Look at the photos and decide for yourself. And check out a photo of the building taken two weeks ago when the brickwork was still intact.

When the demo crew saw the photographer taking pictures, they started scrambling around, hiding their faces, and calling on their cells. Fortunately they were too far away to make a grab for his camera, which is what happened to another photographer at the Bank of Coney Building in June.

Men at work on roof of Thor Equities owned Henderson Building, morning of Aug 16, 2010

Inspector #1027 from the City’s Department of Buildings responded to a complaint of “unsafe/illegal/mechanical demo” and had this to say in his report: “NO VIOLATION WARRANTED FOR COMPLAINT AT TIME OF INSPECTION. NO DEMOLITION WORK NOTED.” Okay, DOB, we get the message, you don’t have to scream at us in all caps.

Men at work on roof of Thor Equities owned Henderson Building, morning of Aug 16, 2010

Last time we posted about “Thor’s Coney Island: Demolition Under the Radar?” about Thor’s property at 12th St and Surf, the DOB’s assessment was frustratingly similar “NO VIOLATION WARRANTED FOR COMPLAINT AT TIME OF INSPECTION. NO DEMOLITION WORK NOTED AT TIME OF INSPECTION, NO WORK NOTED.” We were told the inspector has to see the violation happening before his own eyes, or there’s no violation!

Ironically, the demolition comes at a time when there’s fresh hope of saving these historic buildings. On August 12, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation wrote Save Coney Island that “the historic core of Coney Island appears to meet the criteria for listing to the Registers as a historic district.” State and National Register listing would make the buildings eligible for hefty tax credits, but unlike City landmarking, doesn’t protect them from Thor’s hammer. In a David vs Goliath moment, Save Coney Island’s Juan Rivero called on Joe Sitt to be a hero and redevelop Coney Island in the right way. We’re not exactly holding our breath, but after a hiatus of more than a month (it’s been an incredibly busy summer for those of us who work in Coney!), ATZ is back with a vengeance. On Aug 13, the DOB issued Thor permits to demolish the Bank of Coney Island as well as the Shore Hotel. According to the ominously worded documents: “This job is not subject to the Department’s Development Challenge Process. For any issues, please contact the relevant borough office.” Huh?

Men at work on roof of Thor Equities owned Henderson Building, morning of Aug 16, 2010

Save Coney Island posted a statement on their website: “Workers were seen and photographed this morning (Monday August 16) on the building’s roof using mechanical equipment to remove bricks from the top of the façade of the 1899 Henderson Music Hall, where Harpo Marx made his stage debut with his brothers Groucho and Gummo. Thor does not appear to have acquired any permits for this sort of work. According to the New York City Department of Buildings website, no new permits have been issued for the Henderson building in the past several years.Moreover, there was no scaffolding or sidewalk shed present to protect pedestrians during the demolition work.”

The building is slated for demolition this fall and asbestos abatement appears to be underway though the photographer did not see any permits posted this morning. The permits for this type of work are issued by the City’s Department of Environmental Protection, not the D.O.B, and are not listed on the City’s website. Back in June, when Thor did asbestos abatement on the Bank of Coney Island we wrote:

We’re shocked that the City has issued permits to Thor Equities for pre-demolition asbestos abatement during Coney Island’s summer season. Couldn’t Joe Sitt be persuaded to wait till October to get on with his dirty work of demolishing the historic buildings that he owns in Coney Island? Is the City monitoring the air around the doomed Bank of Coney Island or leaving it up to Thor’s team to keep us safe from inhaling asbestos fibers and dust? Here’s where we start to be concerned.

We’re still concerned. The issues we brought up in “Thor’s Coney Island: Caution! Asbestos Removal at Doomed Bank” (June 14, 2010) and “Thor’s Coney Island: Demolition Under the Radar?” (July 1, 2010) have been ignored.

UPDATE August 22, 2010:

In a dicussion about one of the above photos posted on our flickr photostream, flickr member Asbestorama, who has an archive of asbestos abatement-related photos, writes:

Looks like they’re removing roof mastic or sealant from the parapet coping. The usage of HEPA-filtered respirators and disposable coveralls give the impression that these activities involve removal of asbestos (mechanical removal, dry scraping ?)

The concrete block, bricks, equipment, tools, or even the hazardous material itself could fall, creating additional issues. The yellow caution tape below does seem inadequate for the potential risks associated with these activities. Also, doesn’t appear that the workers are being monitored for possible contaminant exposure (asbestos?) which is usually required for OSHA compliance, even for outside roof work.