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Perfect Time to Bring Back the Coney Island Velodrome

Posted in Redevelopment, Sports, tagged bicycling, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Coney Island, Coney Island Velodrome, Harry Schwartzman, Joshua Rechnitz, sports complex, track racing, velodrome on January 11, 2013| 4 Comments »

Two racers at the Coney Island Velodrome. The star is Tom Duffin Jr. Photo courtesy Century Road Club Association via NYBikeJumble.com

The news that philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz’s plan to donate $50M to build an indoor velodrome in Brooklyn Bridge Park was scrapped got us thinking: Why not build the velodrome in Coney Island, which had an outdoor one from 1930 until the 1950s? It was New York’s last commercial bicycle racing venue, according to NY Bike Jumble founder Harry Schwartzman, who curated an exhibit of bikes, photos and ephemera relating to the Coney Island Velodrome at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House in 2010.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Rechnitz and his nonprofit NYC Fieldhouse had withdrawn the proposal for Brooklyn Bridge Park due to high site costs and would seek another location in the New York Metro area for the sports complex. According to NYC Fieldhouse’s website: “As currently envisioned, a facility of no more than 115,000 sq. ft. will hold a maximum of 2499 seats. It will feature a 200-meter inclined cycling track, a boathouse, a 22,000 sq. ft. infield and other spaces that will serve various public uses including sporting events and community activities.” The gift was the largest single donation to New York City parks and would have covered the design and construction of the building as well as any revenue shortfall over the first ten years.

Velodrome Rider. Photo courtesy Century Road Club Association via NYBikeJumble.com

The Coney Island Velodrome was a 10,000-seat arena with a 1/8-mile wooden oval track. The venue also hosted prize fights and midget car racing. The velodrome was razed in 1955 to make way for Luna Park Houses. ATZ asked Schwartzman for his thoughts on the Coney Island Velodrome and the possibility of bringing it back. He said in an email:

The Coney Island Velodrome at 12th and Neptune was a ‘competition’ track where a typical race day would include up to twenty three events, from 100 meter sprints to 40 mile motor paced events where riders would shadow a motorcycle around the track at speeds upwards of fifty miles an hour. The track was built in the thirties, waning days of the popularity of bicycle track racing in the USA, and the sport was not as popular as it had been in the eighteen nineties or in the twenties, when stars, gangsters and celebrities would frequent the races.

Coney Island’s audience would have been more proletarian and most likely recent immigrants from lands where bicycle racing was still popular. Cycling is still a very accessible sport, and track racing is even more so than any other discipline. With the explosion of the popularity of cycling, it’s the perfect time to bring back the Coney Island Velodrome!

Coney Island Velodrome Program, Collection of Century Road Club Association. Courtesy NYBikeJumble.com

In Thor’s Coney Island, Discount on Retail Ride of a Lifetime

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, pop-up store, Retail Ride of a Lifetime, Stillwell Avenue, Surf Avenue, Thor Equities on December 24, 2012| 2 Comments »

View of Thor Equities Vacant Building from Stillwell Terminal in Coney Island on January 29, 2012. The building is currently boarded up with a plywood mural. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

A press release from Thor Equities offers potential good news for Brooklyn retailers and restaurateurs who’d like to open a pop-up store or get a foot in the door of the new Coney Island: “Thor To Add Local Flavor To Coney Island By Leasing Major Surf Avenue Parcels To Local Brooklyn Merchants At Reduced Rents For 2013.” The idea is to fully lease Joe Sitt’s new building at Surf and Stillwell for the summer of 2013.

Vacant since its unveiling last January, the sterile looking building was soon boarded up with plywood. It is currently dressed up with a Funny Face mural and a sign advertising “CONEY ISLAND – The RETAIL RIDE of a LIFETIME” with a phone number to call for leasing opportunities.

New Coney Island ‘Funny Face’ Mural on Thor Equities Building at Surf and Stillwell. May 28, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

As ATZ reported last week, Johnny Rockets, Red Mango and Applebee’s franchisees recently signed leases with property owners on the north side of Surf, where sources said the rent was one third the price of Thor’s building on the south side. How enticing is Thor’s rent reduction?

“While each location within the 15,000 square foot property is taken on a case-by-case basis, generally Sitt is reducing each unit in the vicinity of about 40 per cent,” Thor spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg told ATZ. “The building is divided into four storefronts. Three are vacant and one has been leased to a national company.” In addition, the Eldorado Bumper Cars and Arcade, which is a couple of doors away in a building purchased last year by Thor Equities, will also be the beneficiary of a rent reduction. This couldn’t have come at a better time since the Eldorado was damaged by Sandy and needs costly repairs to reopen.

Eldorado Auto Skooters Sign by Steve Powers, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. September 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

On December 15th, Thor Equities filed plans with the Department of Buildings for general construction for a new retail build-out inclusive of partitions and installation of mechanical equipment, duct work and plumbing fixtures. The original floorplan for 1232 Surf promised more than a dozen spaces including a row of 250-square-foot spaces on the Bowery side, outdoor seating on Henderson Walk and a 3,050 square foot roof deck.

Thor is teaming up with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to help recruit tenants, according to Chamber president Carlo Scissura. “This program is especially important in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and will go a long way in making sure that Coney Island remains a vibrant neighborhood and tourist attraction as well as a place where small businesses can thrive and Brooklynites can get jobs,” said Scissura.

Thor’s Coney Island: Stillwell Avenue side of Joe Sitt’s new building. January 29, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The biggest surprise of the press release was what Thor CEO Joe Sitt had to say about chains vs local businesses: “Coney Island’s popularity has reached record proportions, but we can never forget what got us here – local, ahead-of-their-time business owners who brought flair, hipness and edge to the People’s Playground,” Sitt said. “While it is wonderful that national chains are now coming to Coney, providing needed jobs and year-round revenue to the community, we must always remember the history of this iconic neighborhood.”

In the documentary “Zipper,” Joe Sitt reads a list of national chains that he wants to bring to the new Coney Island. It sounds like Any Vacation Spot USA: Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Dave and Buster’s, Hard Rock, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Howie’s Game Factory, Build-A-Bear Workshop. Has Sitt, who was reviled in 2008 as the Grinch who stole Coney Island for locking out small business owners on Christmas Eve, evolved into a Santa for Mom-and-Pops? Hey, we hope so. Only time and the new building’s tenants will tell.

Thinkwell’s rendering for Thor’s Temporary One-Story Building in Coney Island. April 2010

The one-story building at 1232 Surf Avenue is Thor Equities’ first new construction in Coney Island. It was built on the site of the century-old Henderson Music Hall, which was doomed when the City rezoned the parcel for a high-rise “hotel” in July 2009. The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission denied landmark designation and also declined to create a historic district, which would have created tax incentives to rehab the building.

Henderson’s began as a restaurant at Bowery and Henderson Walk in 1881 and included a music hall featuring such music and vaudeville acts as Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, and Sophie Tucker. From 1926 to 1984, the building housed the World in Wax Musee. Tenants who lost their leases after Thor bought the property or due to the demolition in 2010 include the Velocity Nightclub and Popeye’s Chicken, which has since relocated to the Popper Building. The Fascination arcade owner moved his business (renamed Game World) to another Thor-owned property on Surf.

Last Night at Faber’s, Coney Island. September 6, 2010. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

One of the saddest losses was the Fascination Arcade’s bare bulb sign which dated back to the 1930s. It was illuminated year-round and was a welcome sight to see upon exiting Stillwell Terminal. Also missed are the individually owned concession games like Shoot Out The Star, Balloon Raceing [sic] and the Balloon Dart on the Stillwell and Bowery sides of the building. Is there anyone besides this former carny kid and game operator who is going to lament the fact that these old school amusements are gone forever from this corner of Coney Island?

Balloon Dart, on the Bowery in Coney Island.May 26, 2008. This game did not reopen in 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Will Coney Island’s Surf Ave Become a Mecca for Franchises?

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Applebee's, Coney Island, franchise, Johnny Rockets, restaurant, Surf Avenue on December 19, 2012| 14 Comments »

Coney Island, the birthplace of the hot dog and the enclosed amusement park is famous for its quirky authenticity, but it’s about to look and taste more like Anyplace USA. Three national franchises– Applebee’s, Johnny Rockets and Red Mango–have signed leases for the north side of Surf Avenue.

Broker Joe Vitacco tells ATZ, “We rented 8,000 square feet to the Johnny Rockets franchisee. He will use 6,000 square feet for the Johnny Rockets and the remaining 2,000 square feet for another national franchise, Red Mango.” The building next door, 1217, will be built out to the lot-line on Surf for Applebee’s, he said. The restaurants will activate long vacant properties next to Stillwell Terminal, which already has a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins and a Subway and is getting a Checkers hamburger chain. Is the north side of Surf Avenue destined to become a mecca for franchises?

Red Mango is a frozen yogurt franchise started “many, many spoons ago” (in 2007) in Los Angeles that now has 190 locations nationwide. According to a company press release, it is one of the fastest growing retailers of all-natural nonfat frozen yogurt and fresh fruit smoothies. Johnny Rockets touts itself as “The Original Hamburger” though it was founded in 1986, also in L.A. According to their corporate website the chain has “about 300 corporate and franchise-owned restaurants in 30 states and 16 countries, including 30 Six Flags amusement park locations and 11 Royal Caribbean cruise ships.” In the New York area, the store can be found at 56th Street, South Street Seaport and Yankee Stadium and in Glendale and Forest Hills in Queens, as well as in New Jersey at Newport Centre Mall and in Hoboken. Applebee’s has almost 2,000 locations nationwide and the franchisee already owns 40 restaurants in the New York area.

For the record, the franchisees’ leases are with the individual property owners of 1217 and 1223 Surf Avenue and NOT with Thor Equities. Thor CEO Joe Sitt does not own any property on the north side of Surf east of Stillwell Avenue. Thor’s holdings are on the south side of Surf. The news about Johnny Rockets and Applebee’s has long been rumored because franchisees had first looked into renting Thor Equities vacant new building at Surf and Stillwell, where prices are said to be sky high. Rents on the north side of Surf are about a third as much as Thor’s properties on the south side, a source tells ATZ, with a space on the north side renting for $75,000 and a comparable one in Thor’s building with an asking price of $250,000.

Across the street is Nathan’s, which got its start in Coney Island in 1916 and whose original location is a year-round tourist destination. “In total, Nathan’s products are marketed for sale in over 40,000 locations,” according to the company’s website. Also on the south side of Surf Avenue is Popeye’s Chicken, which is popular with locals and whose franchisee owner has been in business year-round in Coney Island for nearly thirty years.

Coney Island Post-Sandy: The original Nathan’s at Surf and Stillwell is Closed Till Spring. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Vitacco has been actively marketing properties in Coney Island to potential franchisees and independent restaurateurs alike, as well as to other businesses, for many years. It has been a tough sell, with 14 months of red tape at 1223 Surf, which is owned by Fox 18 Realty, LLC, due to the property being adjacent to the MTA. Hooters, Outback Steak House and a seafood restaurant are on his get list. “What would you like to see?” he asked when we said we weren’t a fan of franchises.

How about a club with a wave-riding machine? Turns out Body Glove Swimwear had come to him with an idea for a cafe, retail and surf machine, but nothing ever came of it. In addition to an all-season surfing venue, ATZ’s Big Wish List for the New Coney Island includes a pinball arcade museum, Fascination, frozen custard and a Mangels Whip ride. “The reason it is better to have franchisees is the franchise company has to approve the area, location and lease,” says Vitacco, who believes that Coney Island is a fantastic location. “They have done all of their homework and are experts at analyzing a location.”

While some of our Coney Island friends approve of any new business coming to vacant land and the jobs that it will create, others are critical: “At least Johnny Rockets sort of fits the vibe. But who needs a fake diner when there’s a real one?! (Tom’s),” says Coney Island regular and writer Tara Cox. “In my personal vision for Coney, they should give small, unique business owners the chance to thrive and keep the spirit alive. The whole area will benefit. And what a novelty it would be — a land where there’s only small, interesting and personal businesses.”

Sky Rapids Ride at 1223 Surf Avenue and Arcade at 1217 Surf Ave. Coney Island. January 1, 1979. Photo by Abe Feinstein via Coney Island History Project

Until the early 1980’s the north side of Surf Avenue was home to individually-owned penny arcades and a variety of rides including bumper cars, carousels and even a Jumbo Jet-style coaster. Philips Candy Store, now located in Staten Island, was the anchor of Stillwell Terminal from 1930 until 2000 when the terminal was rebuilt and they had to move out. By the time the last ride– Coney Island’s B & B Carousell —closed in 2005, the north side was known as the wrong side of Surf Avenue to locate a business because of the lack of foot traffic. It was mostly furniture stores named after amusement parks. Rides aren’t about to make a comeback due to the high rent, but things began looking up last summer with the opening of the popular Grimaldi’s Pizzeria on the north side of Surf.

Some kind of formula business restriction such as the one in San Francisco, which bans chains in some neighborhoods and regulates them almost everywhere else, would create opportunities for small, independent businesses and prevent Surf Avenue from becoming a strip of franchises. During the hearings leading up to the July 2009 rezoning, a number of individuals and organizations including the Pratt Center for Community Development recommended adopting a formula business restriction policy within Coney East to prevent national retailers and fast food restaurants from locating there. Of course that didn’t happen because the zoning was written to attract these very businesses to Coney Island.