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Party, Rally, Pay Your Respects to Coney Island Boardwalk 9

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Boardwalk, Central Amusement International, Coney Island, Eviction of Small Businesses, NYCEDC, Paul's Daughter, Ruby's on November 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

Coney Island Needs Your Help: The Official Poster from Friends of Ruby’s Bar & Grill

This weekend, patrons and friends of the nine booted out Boardwalk businesses will converge in Coney Island to party, rally and pay their respects. Ruby’s Bar will be open for “Last Call…for now” on Saturday from 12 noon till at least 6 pm. Friends of the beloved bar organized a rally and petition drive. You can sign the online petition here. We expect to see lots of protest signs and as many dear friends on this heartbreaking occasion as on New Year’s Day.

The businesses who lost their leases aka “The Coney Island Boardwalk 9” are Ruby’s, Cha Cha’s, Paul’s Daughter, Grill House, Gyro Corner, Shoot the Freak, Beer Island, Pio Pio Riko and Coney Island Souvenir Shop. Paul’s Daughter, who was interviewed yesterday by New York Magazine’s Grub Street, will also be open on Saturday for a farewell party. On Sunday, Coney Island band Neptune Jam will be playing in front of the Grill House. We wouldn’t be at all surprised if Cha Cha’s and Shoot the Freak are open, too. We’ll let you know! UPDATE 10:30 pm… Ruby’s was still rocking when we left around 8 pm! But Saturday was “Last Call” for now. Cha Cha’s and Shoot the Freak remained closed, but Gyro Corner was open. Both Paul’s Daughter and Grill House will be open on Sunday.

Paul's Daughter, Coney Island Boardwalk. Last day of season, Oct 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

As we said on the eve of Coney Island’s official last day of the season, which was October 31: If you have a sentimental favorite on the Boardwalk, come out and show them some love. And don’t forget to take souvenir photos. This weekend could be your very last chance.

If you can’t make it and want to make your voice heard, we recommend calling 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC) and leaving a comment for the Mayor or sending an email via the City’s website. The property is City-owned, yet the City has been silent since the news broke. Plans for a revamped Boardwalk were probably part of the original proposal for the new Luna Park and certainly had input from the City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). It’s pretty clear the City wanted these old Boardwalk businesses gone from the new Coney Island or we’d have heard about a plan to relocate them instead of silence.

The only politician who has commented on the situation is Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who told Grub Street: “As a Brooklynite, I have great respect for all boardwalk businesses that have kept the faith during hard times, therefore I’m calling on the City to see if we can help them stay in the area if not on the boardwalk.” You can encourage Marty to broker a deal by emailing askmarty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov or phoning 718-802-3700.

Grill House, Coney Island Boardwalk. Last day of season, Oct 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Exclusive: Surrender the Premises Letter Sent to Coney Island Boardwalk Veterans

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Boardwalk, Central Amusement International, Coney Island, Luna Park, mom & pop businesses, NYCEDC, vacate the premises letter on November 4, 2010| 10 Comments »

On Wednesday afternoon, several owners of mom-and-pop businesses on Coney Island’s Boardwalk met to discuss taking legal action against eviction by Central Amusement International/Luna Park. ATZ obtained a copy of the two-page vacate the premises notice sent to the business owners. We’re told all nine of the booted businesses received the same form letter, down to the generic salutation “Dear Sir or Madam…”

When the business owners received the Fedex envelopes containing the long-awaited letter on Monday morning, they expected to read CAI’s specific response to the business plans which they had prepared and submitted. But the letter doesn’t contain so much as a “We regret to inform you that your business plan was not selected.”

According to the letter’s second graf, the City’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) licensed the Boardwalk properties to CAI. The deal was done in February. “As part of our arrangement with the EDC, we licensed those Boardwalk properties (including your site) to EDC, which made it possible for EDC to grant you the License Agreement for the 2010 summer season.”

New kid on the block Luna Park plans to replace the gritty authenticity of the Boardwalk’s oldest bar and sausage and clam joints with a huge sports bar, an upscale year-round restaurant, another Nathan’s satellite and a beer garden. The new businesses would flank the Luna-esque entrance to CAI’s Scream Zone, which will be where Shoot the Freak is now.

The cruellest part of the letter calls for the business owners, some of whom have occupied the same spot for decades, to formally acknowledge the surrender of the licensed premises and vacate within 15 days or face penalties. Coney Island history, including the Boardwalk’s vernacular signage, will be swept away to make way for the new Luna Park-inspired fronts shown in CAI’s renderings. “They didn’t have the vision that we have for the Boardwalk,” Valerio Ferrari, president of CAI/ZAmperla USA told ATZ on Monday. “It’s a business decision.” The letter says….

We want you to understand that while our company is affording you fifteen additional days in which to leave the licensed premises, the timing is critical in order for the Boardwalk properties to be ready for operations next season. For this reason, please be aware that Central Amusement International will enforce the penalties provisions in your License Agreement as well as seek all available legal and equitable remedies in the event that you should fail to leave by November 15, 2010.

ATZ learned from one of the business owners that the penalty is $2,500 per day for each day after November 15th.

Out With the Old in Coney Island: Only 2 of 11 Boardwalk Businesses Invited Back

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Boardwalk, Cha-Cha's, Coney Island, Luna Park, Ruby's, Zamperla on November 1, 2010| 29 Comments »

Gyro Corner on the Boardwalk in Coney Island. October 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

We’re still in shock and will have more to say in the coming days. It’s like a mass wake on the Coney Island Boardwalk at the moment. The funeral will be this weekend…It’s goodbye Ruby’s, Cha Cha’s, Paul’s Daughter, Grill House, Gyro Corner, Shoot the Freak, Beer Island, Pio Pio Riko and Coney Island Souvenir Shop. After hearing the news from folks on the Boardwalk that the venerable Ruby’s and several others were out, ATZ phoned Zamperla USA/CAI CEO Valerio Ferrari for confirmation. It’s shocking but true: the only two existing Boardwalk businesses invited back are Nathan’s and Lola Star Boutique. These lucky survivors will be offered a 9-year lease. The other nine businesses will become part of Coney Island history, unless the City helps them relocate in the neighborhood.

Ruby's, Coney Island. October 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

“They didn’t have the vision that we have for the Boardwalk,” Ferrari told ATZ. “It’s a business decision.” He says Zamperla/CAI’s vision is to revitalize the Boardwalk by making it a lively place open 365 days a year. But it’s also a matter of investment dollars. Luna Park is investing $1.4 million in a new restaurant at the corner of Surf and 10th Street, formerly occupied by Gregory & Paul’s. A Boardwalk restaurant/bar hoping to get a lease renewal would have had to make a million dollar investment as well, Ferrari said.

Signage at Paul's Daughter, Coney Island. October 31, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

Where Cha Cha’s is located there will be a year-round restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with upscale food. Ruby’s and the Souvenir Shop will be replaced by a huge sports bar. Ferrari says they have letters of intent from the companies that will bring in the bar and restaurant, but was not ready to reveal the names of the restaurateurs.

Last night, ATZ was on the Boardwalk taking photos of the vernacular signage and gritty authenticity of Ruby’s, Cha Cha’s, Paul’s Daughter, Shoot the Freak, and the other Boardwalk businesses. It was the last day of the 2010 season. As it turns out, it’s the last day period. The businesses have two weeks to vacate the premises they’ve occupied for 7, 20 and in one case 40 years.

It seems to us that Seth Pinsky of the NYCEDC has some explaining to do. As ATZ reported last year in “Ciao Coney Island! Will Ruby’s, Shoot the Freak, Astrotower & Other Oldies Survive?” (December 18, 2009)…

Before the RFP release, Shoot the Freak’s Anthony Berlingieri made headlines when he appeared at the City’s press conference on the land buy and posed the question directly to Mayor Bloomberg: “Is there a place for us?” NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky gave a diplomatic reply: “Our intention is for the foreseeable future to keep all the tenants in place, certainly through next summer. And we’re going to be looking to work with each of you to figure out where it makes sense for the various tenants to remain as we build out the amusement park.”