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Presidents Day Weekend at Coney Island USA’s Hall of the Presidents

Posted in Events, Photo of the Day, tagged Brunch, Coney Island, Coney Island USA, Freak Bar, gift shop, Marie Roberts, mural, Presidents Day Weekend on February 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Marie Roberts murals for Hall of the Presidents, 2008 Creepshow at the Freakshow at Coney Island USA. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Happy Birthday Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge! We’ve been saving this pic of the seldom seen Hall of the Presidents in the Coney Island USA Building for Presidents Day. CIUSA artist in residence Marie Roberts painted the murals in a back stairwell for the 2008 Creepshow at the Freakshow . The artwork still exists though it will be painted over next Halloween. The theme was Phantom of the Presidential Wax Museum. The mural is meant to be viewed under black light as seen in this superb photo from jamie nyc’s flickr set of the haunted freak show tour.

While the Hall of the Presidents is not in a public area of the building, you can celebrate Presidents Day Weekend in Coney Island by watching the Polar Bear Club Swim on Sunday at 1 pm. Join the Bears for brunch afterward at CIUSA’s Freak Bar. Bagels, cream cheese, coffee, espresso and cappuccino will be available for purchase at Sunday’s Polar Bear Brunch.

While America honors Presidents Day with sales galore, Coney Island USA continues its online gift shop sale of Mermaid Parade, Film Festival and Creepshow posters; Funny Face, Madame Twisto and Serpentina T-shirts; and Dreamland Bar & Grill tokens. Winter hours at the Coney Island Museum and Gift Shop are Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 pm.

Coney Island USA, 1208 Surf Ave, Coney Island. B,D, F, Q trains to Stillwell Ave.

Photo of the Day: NYCEDC Signs Herald New Coney Island Amusement Park

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, Photo of the Day, tagged Brooklyn, Coney Island Amusement Park, NYCEDC, signage on February 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

NYCEDC Signs for New Coney Island Amusement Park. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

NYCEDC Signs for New Coney Island Amusement Park on the former Astroland. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Visitors who stroll along the Boardwalk will no longer have to ask when the new and revitalized Coney Island will officially get underway. On Tuesday, NYCEDC signs went up on the City’s property in Coney Island heralding the brand-new amusement park set to open in phases this summer and next. Photographer and Coney Island resident Bruce Handy ventured out into Wednesday’s blizzard to take the first photos of the signs on the former Astroland’s Boardwalk Gate and Stillwell properties. You can view Bruce’s snowy day in Coney flickr set here.

The Economic Development Corporation’s sign says “The Coney Island Amusement Park Project involves construction of an amusement park on three properties in Coney Island totaling approximately 6.5 acres. The project includes abatement, demolition, site cleaning, utility and subsurface work, landscaping, and the installation of footings, foundation and rides for a new amusement, a first phase of which will open on Parcel A (1000 Surf Avenue) in Summer 2010 and a second phase of which will open on Parcels B and C (Stillwell) by Summer 2011.”

B and C by Summer 2011? We realize there’s lots of work to be done within a short time frame, but hope to see some interim programming on Parcels B and C this summer. The fact that workers were observed there on Tuesday doing soil sample boring and making red markings on the pavement makes us feel optimistic. We’re told the markings are for Con Edison to increase the size of the wiring. It’s all those lights for the new Luna Park, y’know!

Photo of the Day: Save Coney Island Club of California’s Agoura HS

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Coney Island, fundraiser, high school club, public advocacy, Redevelopment, Save Coney Island on February 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

Save Coney Island Club of Agoura High School, Agoura Hills, California- 2009-2010. Photo © Boardwalklover via flickr

When we saw this adorable photo of the Save Coney Island Club of Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California, it made us think– Wow, California really is ahead of the curve! We agree with the sentiments of the Brooklynite who found the photo on flickr and called it to our attention: “Maybe it’ll spawn Save Coney Island Clubs in New York City high schools!”

According to the photo caption “As of January 2010, we have raised apr. $130.00. It meets EVERY ODD FRIDAY in ROOM M5A at lunch! (periods 1-3-5).”

ATZ contacted the club’s founder, 15-year-old Taylor Stein, for more information. Taylor got the Save Coney Island T-shirt that he’s wearing in the photo when he visited Coney Island last summer with his Dad. The Stein family is originally from Brooklyn. Taylor returned to California more determined than ever to help save Coney Island’s shrinking outdoor amusement area from high rise development and to preserve its historic structures.

Taylor told us about the club’s activities: “We raised $130 by having a candy apple and fudge fundraiser, and also by getting donations and rewarding candy on a daily basis at school. Our club meets every other Friday at lunch and discusses key ways to raise money that will help cover the expenses of the Save Coney Island lawsuit against the city. We also watch historic Coney Island films while eating lunch, plus we talk about the history and current events happening in Coney Island. We hope to raise at least $400 by the end of the year.”

Mapquest’s total travel estimate from Coney Island to Agoura Hills is 43 hours 5 minutes or 2833.03 miles. We’re impressed by the California club’s long distance devotion to Coney Island. It’s proof that what Steeplechase Park creator George C. Tilyou wrote in 1886 is truer than ever: “If Paris is France, then Coney Island, between June to September, is the world.”