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November 3: Volunteer for Coney Island’s Sandy Cleanup

Posted in Events, News, Photography, tagged beach cleanup, Coney Island, Mindy Gress, Sandy Cleanup, volunteer on November 3, 2012| 1 Comment »

Bus Stop Sign at Surf Ave and West 5th Street on the Morning After Hurricane Sandy. October 30, 2012. Photo © Mindy Gress

Update, November 4th: A second volunteer day has been scheduled for today — Sunday, November 4th, beginning at 9AM. Volunteer Relief Opportunities during the week at FEMA Distribution Site, National Guard Distribution Site, Coney Island Generation Gap on Neptune Avenue and at Sea Gate. For updates on volunteering or donating to help Coney Island, or to get help, visit coneyrecovers.org.

The Coney Island Dancers first put out a call for volunteers for a beach cleanup on Saturday, November 3rd, beginning at 9am on the Boardwalk at West 10th Street. On Friday it grew into a bigger outreach for the whole neighborhood due to the widespread damage from Hurricane Sandy and people asking how they could help. “Please note, this is NOT just–or even primarily–a clean-up effort,” the Coney Island Development Corporation posted on Coney Island’s Facebook page, which has more than 157,000 fans. “We have thousands of residents in need of immediate assistance, as well as hundreds of businesses that are devastated. Volunteers will be assigned a variety of tasks tomorrow. We thank everyone in advance for their support.”

Volunteers are needed to assist in recovery and cleanup in and around Coney Island.

Where: Volunteers will convene on the Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue (outside of Tom’s Restaurant)

When: Saturday November 3, 9:00 A.M.

Dress warmly, wear sturdy footwear or boots, and bring work gloves! Bring your own flashlight (with extra batteries), a backpack, and snacks/water for yourself for the day.

Donation requests to help with Saturday’s work:

Power strips
Extra flashlights
Outdoor brooms

Please note that bathroom access on site will be very limited.

No RSVP required

You can refer to MTA.info for latest transit updates. Carpooling and biking are encouraged.

Please forward this to all of your networks.

Organized by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Brooklyn Community Board 13, Astella Development Corporation, and the Coney Island Development Corporation

HELP! Brighton Beach the Day After Hurricane Sandy, October 30, 2012. Photo © Mindy Gress

At 12 noon, CIBBOWS (Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers) and the Coney Island Polar Bears are also teaming up for a beach cleanup. “Meet us at the Municipal Parking Lot in Brighton Beach (Brighton 4th Street and Brightwater Court) at noon on Saturday and help us clean-up Brighton Beach and Coney Island,” says their Facebook invite.

If you are unable to make it on Saturday, stay tuned for more volunteer opportunities. Coney Island from Brighton Beach to Sea Gate was devastated by Sandy and the rebuilding will go on for months. The surreal photos in this post were taken by Coney Island resident Mindy Gress on the day after Hurricane Sandy.

ATZ is issuing an all points alert for a giant fiberglass burger last seen abandoned by a dumpster on West 15th Street. Looks like Sandy took a bite out of it. It belongs to Mama Burger, the A & W root beer figure on the roof of Paul’s Daughter, who was recovered after being toppled by the storm. Mama wants her burger back! Perhaps it will turn up during tomorrow’s Coney Island Cleanup.

Missing in Storm: Have You Seen Coney’s Mama Burger?

Posted in Artifacts, historic preservation, News, tagged A & W Root Beer Family, Coney Island, Hurricane Sandy, Mama Burger, Paul's Daughter on October 31, 2012| 11 Comments »

Burger Girl at Paul’s Daughter, Coney Island. November 13, 2010. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Have you seen Mama Burger? It seems that she was swept off the roof of Paul’s Daughter on the Coney Island Boardwalk by Hurricane Sandy. We’re not sure of her exact size but she’s smaller than Papa Burger who anchors the other end of the roof. He is 10 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and weighs 250 pounds. The Burger figures known as the A & W Root Beer Family were first made in the 1963 and are catalogued on Debra Jane Seltzer’s website roadsidearchitecture.com.

On Tuesday, Mama’s burger was spotted at West 15th Street by a photographer but Mama herself remains a missing person. Tina Georgoulakos, owner of Paul’s Daughter, wrote in an email to ATZ: “She must have blown away, We don’t know where she is. After all these years!!” If you find her please contact Paul’s Daughter at 917-607-4960 or via Facebook.

UPDATE November 12, 2012

GOOD NEWS: Mama Burger was found but her burger, last seen on 15th Street, is still missing. Update from Paul’s Daughter: “Just wanted to let you know that we found Mama Burger!! I posted about it on FB but wanted to let you know as well. She was on the roof, Burger-less and Beer-less but ok. We tried to find the Burger on 15th street (where someone posted a picture of it) but we couldn’t find it. At least we have her. Now we just have to get all of the sand out of the store.”

Photo Album: Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath in Coney Island

Posted in amusement park, News, Photography, tagged Coney Island, hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, Jim McDonnell, Luna Park, Sandy, storm damage, Surf Avenue, Wonder Wheel on October 31, 2012| 23 Comments »

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath in Coney Island

Surf Avenue: Flood Line on Coney Island Mural. October 30, 2012. Photo © Jim McDonnell

Jim McDonnell, whose beautiful photos and videos of Coney Island’s amusement area are frequently featured on ATZ, took this heartbreaking set of pix on Tuesday morning, the day after Hurricane Sandy struck. As you can see in the above photo of fellow photographer Bruce Handy at Surf and Stillwell Avenues, the flood line is at about 5 feet. During the peak of the storm, Surf Avenue as well as Mermaid and Neptune Avenues and adjacent streets were submerged in water that came from the bay, Coney Island Creek, overflowing sewers and the rising tide. In an image seen on the Coney Island webcam on October 29 at 7:53pm, the amusement parks appeared to be surrounded by a moat.

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

Looking down from his apartment window high above the Aquarium, Bruce texted ATZ on Monday night at 9pm: “Coney completely flooded. Cars floating. Car on fire.” On Tuesday morning a tour of the area began to reveal the damage. Sad to see Grimaldi’s metal gate gave way to Sandy and the interior of the popular new pizzeria wrecked by the wind and flood waters. We dined there just a few days ago and it is one of our faves! The cobwebs in the above photo, which were part of the Halloween decor, look genuinely eerie. Eldorado Auto Skooter, Game World Arcade, Coney Island USA, Denny’s Ice Cream, Popeye’s, the Coney Island History Project and the game booths on both West 12th Street and the Bowery were flooded with 4 to 5 feet of water and left with interior damage yet to be assessed. November 1st Update: Also flooded in Coney’s amusement area were Nathan’s, the stores in Stillwell Terminal, the Wonder Wheel side of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Aquarium. In fact all of the buildings on Surf, Mermaid and Neptune Avenues from one end of Coney Island to the other were inundated by the flood waters.

Surf Avenue, Coney Island: Shore Theater. October 30, 2012. Photo © Jim McDonnell

The sign on the Shore Theater, a New York City landmark which is vacant and for sale, was twisted and appeared to be hanging by a thread. The street was blocked off with caution tape in case it fell. Coney’s landmark rides–the Cyclone, Wonder Wheel and Parachute Jump–stood their ground against Sandy, but Steeplechase Pier was damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

While the sand was piled up two feet high on the Boardwalk, the sandbagged stores–including Ruby’s, Lola Star and Brooklyn Beach Shop–suffered blessedly little or no damage. On Monday night at 7pm, Jimmy Kokotas of Tom’s Coney Island came to check on his store. This morning he told ATZ that he managed to get out just in time before the flood waters starting rising on Surf Avenue.

Maya Haddad of Brooklyn Beach Shop said she was very grateful that the Parks Department put up sand walls to protect the boardwalk businesses. She was able to get into her shop on Tuesday and was happy to find no water damage from the storm surge. “It didn’t look like any water got in,” Maya said. On Stillwell Avenue it was another story: “Coney Island Beach Shop was flooded 4 feet high. Most merchandise and fixtures destroyed. Wasn’t able to get into the shop in the train station either. I will assume the merchandise there was most likely also damaged.” November 21 Update: While the Boardwalk businesses escaped structural damage, with the exception of Tom’s and Paul’s Daughter, all have electrical issues due to flooded basements and do not yet have power. The two parks have partial power or are using generators. The entire neighborhood is suffering from the same situation. Many have to redo the electrical wiring before they can get power restored.

A beloved icon is gone though. “So sad, it looks like Mama Burger is missing,” said Tina Georgoulakos, owner of Paul’s Daughter, in an email to ATZ. “She must have blown away, We don’t know where she is. After all these years!!” Papa Burger, the other half of the A & W root beer duo, withstood Sandy and anchors the other end of the building. “One of the gates blew open during the storm so the store is filled with sand but its way better than what happened on Surf,” Tina added. November 1st: GOOD NEWS Update from Paul’s Daughter: “Just wanted to let you know that we found Mama Burger!! I posted about it on FB but wanted to let you know as well. She was on the roof, Burger-less and Beer-less but ok. We tried to find the Burger on 15th street (where someone posted a picture of it) but we couldn’t find it. At least we have her. Now we just have to get all of the sand out of the store.”

Deno’s Wonder Wheel, built in 1920, has withstood many a storm including this historic hurricane. On Monday morning, co-owner Steve Vourderis put extra cables on the Wheel to further secure the landmark from Hurricane Sandy’s high winds.

Luna Park, which took down its Halloween mazes and prepped for Sandy on Sunday, thankfully appeared to have no visible damage to the rides. A steel fence at the new Scream Zone annex was bent, but the 85-year-old Cyclone roller coaster withstood the storm. However, waterlogged equipment and cleanup is a concern for all of the parks, arcades and other businesses in Coney Island’s amusement area.