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Sandy-Damaged Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Coney Island to Reopen in 2 Weeks

Posted in Food, Food & Drink, News, tagged Coney Island, Grimaldi's, pizza, pizzeria, recovery, restaurant, Superstorm Sandy on April 17, 2013| 1 Comment »

Grimaldi’s Pizza Take-Out Order, Coney Island. July 14, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Renovations are underway at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, which expects to re-open its Sandy-damaged restaurant on Coney Island’s Surf Avenue in two weeks. “May 1st is my birthday,” Grimaldi’s operator Joe Silvestri told ATZ. “We’ll be open for my birthday.” Their pizza was a favorite of workers in the amusement area. One of our very first takeout pies is pictured above.

The Coney Island outpost of the famed Brooklyn Bridge pizzeria had been open only four months old when Superstorm Sandy struck. The restaurant’s metal gate gave way to Sandy and the interior of the pizzeria was wrecked by the wind and flood waters. The cobwebs in Jim McDonnell’s photo were part of the Halloween decor and look genuinely eerie. We dined at Grimaldi’s just two days before Sandy and can’t wait to welcome them back.

UPDATE April 30, 2013

Grimaldi’s reopened today! The pizzeria is currently hiring a pizza chef, waiters, kitchen help and bartender. They’re expecting their beer and liquor license to come through. Updates soon!

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath in Coney Island

Surf Avenue, Coney Island: Interior of Grimaldi’s Pizzeria. October 30, 2012. Photo © Jim McDonnell

Photo Update: Sunken Barge at Steeplechase Pier in Coney Island

Posted in News, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged Barge, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Jim McDonnell, local, pier, Steeplechase Pier, Triton Construction on April 14, 2013| 3 Comments »

Rescue boats and crane coming to aid of sunken barge at Steeplechase Pier in Coney Island. April 14, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy

On Sunday morning, a flotilla of rescue boats and barges were in the water east of Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier where a construction barge and a Vergona crawler crane sank yesterday. Today’s efforts were focused on trying to remove the barge from the pier. The sunken equipment had been brought to the site a few days ago, where Triton Construction is doing repairs. The 1000-foot Steeplechase Pier was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. On Friday, the pier was swarming with workers, all wearing harnesses. By Friday night the construction barge began to list.

The above photo of the rescue craft was shot this morning by Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy, who said the big crane is twice the size of the sunken one. The dramatic photographs below of the sinking barge were taken on Saturday morning by Jim McDonnell, whose news-breaking photos ATZ posted yesterday in “Sinking Barge at Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier.”

Sinking Barge and Crane at Steeplechase Pier, Coney Island. April 13, 2013. Photo © Jim McDonnell

According to NY1, the Coast Guard says the fire department had contractors unload fuel from the barge and there were no leaks. The barge’s owner is reponsible for coming up with a plan for salvaging it. We hope this is resolved quickly and doesn’t delay the reconstruction of the pier, which was scheduled to be completed by July 4th.

UPDATE April 24, 2013

The post-Sandy reconstruction of Steeplechase Pier is back up to speed after a construction barge sank on April 13: “Photo Album: Coney Island April 2013 Construction Update”, ATZ, April 24, 2013

Sinking Barge at Steeplechase Pier, Coney Island. April 13, 2013. Photo © Jim McDonnell

Breaking: Sinking Barge at Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier

Posted in News, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged accident, Barge, Coney Island, FDNY, Jim McDonnell, local, repairs, Sandy, Steeplechase Pier on April 13, 2013| 1 Comment »

This morning at approximately 8:23 AM, the FDNY’s Marine 6 responded to a report of a sinking barge at Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier. NYC Fire Wire reported “All hands going to work for a sinking Barge with occupants trapped. Marine 9 rescued 2 at this time.” The barge has a crane with a 500 gallon fuel tank on it and the end of the pier was said to be in danger of collapse. Photographer Jim McDonnell was on the beach and captured the scene in these photos. Containment booms were put in place to protect against an oil spill. When more information and photos are available, we’ll post an update.

Bruce Handy photographed the barge and crane last night and said it was already tilting. The equipment had been at the end of the pier for the past few days for repairs of the Sandy-damaged pier. “The main diagonal beam that was raising the floor has been removed. Looks like they are stripping everything and will redo all the wood,” he said.

It’s exactly one month since workers began repairing the pier. On March 14th, ATZ first reported the repairs underway. In an email to ATZ, Meghan Lalor of the Parks Department Press Office wrote: “The entire Steeplechase Pier is being reconstructed. We expect to complete construction by July 4.”

UPDATE April 14, 2013

Today’s Photo Update: Sunken Barge at Steeplechase Pier in Coney Island

UPDATE April 24, 2013

The post-Sandy reconstruction of Steeplechase Pier is back up to speed after a construction barge sank on April 13: “Photo Album: Coney Island April 2013 Construction Update”, ATZ, April 24, 2013