Amusing the Zillion

If Paris Is France, Coney Island, between June and September, Is the World

June 1, 2013 by Tricia

Mural Detail at New York Aquarium, Coney Island Boardwalk. May 27, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

“If Paris is France, then Coney Island, between June and September, is the world,” wrote George C. Tilyou in 1886, when he was 24 and worked in his father’s Surf Bathing Pavilion. Eleven years later, he created Steeplechase Park, the first of Coney’s world-famous amusement parks. On June 1, 2013, in this summer of Coney’s comeback from Superstorm Sandy, Tilyou’s quote is truer than ever. Enjoy your summer — hope to see you in Coney Island!

FEMA To Fund $1.2M Repair of Coney Island Boardwalk Lighting

May 30, 2013 by Tricia

Temporary lights are currently in use on the Boardwalk in Coney Island’s amusement district. April 22, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Let there be light at night on the Boardwalk! On Wednesday, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced over $1 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for Superstorm Sandy-related repairs to lighting along the Coney Island Boardwalk. The Boardwalk’s distinctive twin cast iron light poles, which were installed with $1.2 million allocated in 2004, have not been operational since Sandy. Portable trailer-mounted lighting units were brought in earlier this year.

According to a news release, FEMA will provide $1,220,599 in federal funding to the NYC Department of Transportation for the repairs of the street lighting system serving the Coney Island Boardwalk’s 122 ornamental light poles.

Senator Charles Schumer at Coney Island Opening Day Ceremonies, March 24, 2013. Photo via Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park flickr

“Coney Island’s much-loved boardwalk was seriously damaged by Superstorm Sandy, including its lighting system,” said Schumer. “This federal funding will get the lights back on, just in time for summer, and make sure that New York City residents are not on the hook entirely for these expenses.”

“The iconic Coney Island boardwalk was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy, with its street lighting completely destroyed,” Gillibrand said. “This necessary reimbursement is an important step as we continue to meet New York’s needs to recover and rebuild.”

Coney Island’s rides and the majority of the businesses in the amusement area opened for the season on Palm Sunday. Nathan’s on Surf Avenue, Coney Island USA and the New York Aquarium reopened on Memorial Day Weekend. New construction and post-Sandy renovations are still underway. In April’s photo album, ATZ focused on Steeplechase Pier, Steeplechase Plaza and the Boardwalk, and the Applebee’s on the north side of Surf Avenue. In May’s construction update, we looked at the south side of Surf Avenue and Jones Walk.

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach Opens July 1 with Little Fugitive

May 29, 2013 by Tricia

Little Fugitive, the 1953 classic about a 7-year-old boy who spends 24 hours on the lam in Coney Island, returns to Coney on July 1st to open the 3rd Annual Coney Island Flicks on the Beach. This year is the 60th anniversary of the film, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and influenced the French New Wave. “My Dad used to say his veins were full of sand from Coney Island,” said Mary Engel of her film-maker father Morris Engel at a screening of the new 35MM print at Film Forum earlier this year.

Also screening at this year’s Flicks on the Beach are Bending Steel, a documentary which premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and Men in Black III starring Will Smith and Josh Brolin. Both movies feature scenes shot in Coney Island. Here is the complete schedule for this summer’s Coney Island Flicks on the Beach:

July 1: Little Fugitive, 60th Anniversary (rained out, rescheduled for August 27)
July 8: Bending Steel, in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival
July 15: The Hunger Games
July 22: Wreck it Ralph (rained out, rescheduled for Sept 3)
July 29: Men in Black III
August 5: The Avengers
August 12: Fame
August 19: 42
August 27: Little Fugitive (rescheduled for a Tuesday night due to rain on July 1)
Sept. 3: Wreck It Ralph (rescheduled for a Tuesday night due to rain on July 22)

The Monday night beachside film series is a free event sponsored by the Alliance for Coney Island together with Rooftop Films and NYC & Co. Pre-show entertainment begins at dusk on the beach near West 10th Street.