Amusing the Zillion

Coney Island 2013: “Water Mania” Spin Ride to Debut at Luna Park

January 18, 2013 by Tricia

Zamperla’s Water Mania to Open at Luna Park Coney Island in 2013

Last July, ATZ reported the news of Zamperla’s Water Mania, an interactive water ride that was under development and promised to open in Luna Park Coney Island. Alberto Zamperla had told Italian Wired about the new ride when the reporter asked what he was secretly working on. Now Water Mania is slated to make its world debut in Coney in May, according to a report last month in Park World. “The ride will feature a pirate theme with six four-seater spinning barrels on each of two rotating platforms, offering a total 48 passenger capacity,” says the amusement industry journal. “Each barrel will have its own motor, and riders will board from the outside of the platform without having to set foot in the water.”

Park World’s article “Splash Battle Continues” highlights the popularity of interactive water attractions from major ride manufacturers. Mack’s Spinning Tea Cups on Water debuted with a SpongeBob theme as Splash Bash at Blackpool in 2011 and will open this year at Etnaland in Sicily and La Ronde in Montreal. Also mentioned are Moser’s Corsair Battle and Preston and Barbieri’s Splash Battle.

Last summer, Zamperla debuted an interactive water ride called “Mediterranea” at Minitalia Leolandia, a beautifully landscaped park in Italy formerly owned in part by the ride manufacturer. The pirate-themed ride features galleon style boats sailing under the flags of the four Italian Maritime Republics of the Middle Ages. Riders splash each other as well as bystanders with water cannons. This video of the ride recalls the pageantry of a tall ship parade.

Evicted Coney Island Cat & Cohorts Get One Month Reprieve

January 16, 2013 by Tricia

Japanese Tourists Line Up to Photograph Target the Coney Island Cat. Photo © Coney Island Arcade

Nathan’s Famous is still closed post-Sandy and Coney Island’s rides don’t open till Palm Sunday but this group of Japanese tourists was undaunted. They lined up in front of the Balloon Dart on the Bowery to photograph Target the world-famous Coney Island Cat. On Tuesday, the cat’s human, Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade, along with neighboring game and food operators, appeared in court to respond to eviction notices from their landlord. The good news is everybody including Target is getting a one-month reprieve. The judge postponed the case till February. Let’s hope the reprieve stretches into the season.

Manny Cohen and Target the Coney Island Cat. Photo © Coney Island Arcade

Landlord Evicting Famous Coney Island Cat and His Humans

January 14, 2013 by Tricia

Target the Cat & Jimmy Balloons Calling in Customers. April 5, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

When we started working in Coney Island, Target the Cat was already sitting on the counter of Jimmy’s Balloon Dart on the Bowery calling the people in to play. Some girls can’t walk by without stopping to pet him and ask his name. Next thing you know they’re busting balloons and winning prizes. The gregarious cat is world-famous thanks to having posed for many photographs including one that appeared in the New York Times.

Now the six-year-old cat, who has born and raised in Coney Island’s amusement area, is about to be evicted along with his humans, who own and operate games at 1105 Bowery. Eviction notices were served on four concessionaires who run games and a food stand at 1105 Bowery. All are set to be in court on Tuesday, though it’s doubtful the cat will show up.

Target the Coney Island Cat at work. May 14, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Rumors of the evictions have been the talk of the Coney Island Rumor Mill for weeks. Whatever story you hear or read, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

The building is owned by Shore Leave LLC and Rabbit Beach LLC and Cyclone Holdings LLC and 3019 W 12TH St LLC. Property owner Jeff Persily did not reply to ATZ’s request for comment on the evictions.

Will the judge decide the tenants can stay for another season? The east side of the Bowery just won’t be the same without Target the Cat patrolling the area. This part of the Bowery is his territory. Just to be clear, although Target and his kitty companion Pretty are losing the only home they’ve ever known, they’re not up for adoption. The cats are the beloved pets of Manny Cohen, the owner of Coney Island Arcade, who has been a tenant here for 22 years.

Target and his late sister Targeretty were born at Spook-A-Rama in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. When a worker heard mewing and went to investigate, he found the motherless kittens. They were kept warm with a portable heater and fed with a dropper. Two weeks later, Manny Cohen adopted them and raised them at the arcade.

In May of 2010, a terrible fire destroyed the arcade on a day that workers sent by the landlord tarred the roof. Target escaped when the firemen battling the blaze cut the gates but his shy sister Targeretty died in the fire. The firemen found her in the office where she felt safe and had probably died from smoke inhalation. For weeks, Target kept searching for her in the ruins of the building and crying.

The arcade was never rebuilt and the site remains an empty lot at the corner of West 12th Street and the Bowery. The building at 1105 Bowery is adjacent to the lot and extends to Jones Walk.