Amusing the Zillion

Lola Star Boutique Signs 8-Year Lease for Coney Island Boardwalk

December 9, 2011 by Tricia

Dianna Carlin aka Lola Star with Shimmer in Lola Star Boutique, Coney Island Boardwalk, April 2, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Congratulations to Dianna Carlin, the first of the Boardwalk veterans to announce that she has a done deal with Zamperla’s Central Amusements International, which holds the lease on the City-owned property. Last night, the owner of the Lola Star Boutique on Coney Island’s Boardwalk tweeted, “So, I have some really incredible news…after much negotiating…Tonight I signed my lease to rent my boardwalk shop for the next 8 years!!” The boutique was one of only two Boardwalk businesses invited back by CAI last November, but lease negotiations went on for months.

Carlin is an entrepreneurial spirit whose successful projects include the Dreamland Roller Rink, a shop in Stillwell Terminal, a pop-up shop in SoHo and the new Star Pet Boutique. This afternoon, she announced a “2 TEES FOR $30 SALE” at her Boardwalk Shop this weekend “in celebration of the fact that we will be radiating our hot pink aura of fabulousness in Coney for the next 8 years!” The shop will be open Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon-5pm.

Hopefully more good news is on the way today or in the next few days. Will Boardwalk favorites Ruby’s Bar and Paul’s Daughter sign the leases which they were offered after a Miami restaurateur and Sodexo retreated from deals to take over their spaces? Negotiations have been going on since October over various clauses in the leases, leading to intense speculation about whether or not the beloved Mom and Pops will be back. As one of Ruby’s Facebook fans put it: “Arrgh! The suspense is killing me!”

UPDATE December 12, 2011…Zamperla’s Boardwalk line-up for 2012 is now set. As we posted on Friday, Paul’s Daughter signed an 8-year lease, as did Ruby’s Bar. Tom’s of Prospect Heights will open a second restaurant on the Coney Island Boardwalk, at the corner of Stillwell where Nathan’s and Cha Cha’s were located. See “Coney Island 2012: What’s New on the Boardwalk” (ATZ, November 15, 2011) for details and renderings of the new stores, including Nathan’s, Ruby’s, Paul’s Daughter and Lola Star as well as the new Sky Coaster and other rides.

Mannequins at Lola Star Boutique, Coney Island Boardwalk. April 4, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Takeshi Yamada’s Jersey Devil Set for Bell House Taxidermy Contest

December 8, 2011 by Tricia

Coney Island Artist Takeshi Yamada with his New Jersey Devil and Sea Rabbit

ATZ asked Coney Island artist and rogue taxidermist Takeshi Yamada what he’s bringing to Friday night’s Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest at Bell House. He replied by sending his photo with the “Jersey Devil.” Can you believe it? For three centuries, New Jerseyans have been hunting the Pine Barrens in search of what Weird N.J. calls the state’s “oldest, most enduring, and important pieces of folklore” and it turns up in Coney Island’s Museum of World Wonders!

“It is a big winged lizard or dragon,” says Yamada of his Jersey Devil. “For over a century, this carnivorous animal has been a famous and very well-known cryptid called ‘Jersey Devil’ in the New Jersey area. Body parts of this taxidermy were collected in the woods of New Jersey. I also personally saw many unusual strange flying creatures (not birds or flying squirrels) in the woods for years in New Jersey.”

Yamada is also planning to bring one of his freak human babies. At the 2009 contest, he was awarded “The Most Twisted Prize” for his family of freak show babies made from his own skin. There’s a Two-headed Baby, Mermaid Baby, Octopus Baby, Lobster Baby, Snake Baby, Penguin Baby, and Three-headed Baby. Which one would you like to see? Yamada also won the Grand Championship of Taxidermy in 2006 for his 6-foot-long mummified Fiji Mermaid.

The Secret Science Club presents the 6th-annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest, Friday, December 9 at Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd Aves) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. “Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. $7 cover.” Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

UPDATE December 10, 2011…How did it go at the contest? Takeshi Yamada writes: “I had a great time at the taxidermy contest. I showed my 3 jersey devils on 3×4 feet Victorian picture frame, and the freak snake human baby (surprisingly, you have chosen the right one. I thought I might bring both the 3-headed baby and snake baby up until 1 hour before leaving my house.) I received the “SHOCK & AWE” award and trophy for them.”

Takeshi Yamada and his Jersey Devils Won the Shock and Awe Award at the 2011 Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest. Photo © Takeshi Yamada

Jones Walk’s “Miss Coney Island” Shimmies Over to 12th St

December 7, 2011 by Tricia

Get ready for the Summer of Love in Coney Island! ATZ has learned exclusively that Jones Walk’s legendary “Miss Coney Island” will be dancing more than ever in 2012 at a brand-new location on West 12th Street. The shimmying mannequin’s vitrine will be next to the Coney Island History Project’s exhibition center, near the entrance to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. The price is the same: “25¢ to Fall in Love.”

“I love staring into Miss Coney Island’s eyes,” said Charles Denson, director of the Coney Island History Project, which is expanding its exhibition center into a second storefront that will be Miss CI’s neighbor. “She’s also my favorite dance partner and having her next door is a dream come true.”

As we’ve noted previously, Miss Coney Island does not receive a salary. Her only way of paying the rent on her vitrine is your spare change. When you visit next season, we recommend bringing a whole roll of quarters to spend on Miss CI and her neighbor, Coney Island Always, an animated diorama of Coney Island attractions that will be expanded to include 15 rides, a tightrope walker and a unicyclist. As the signs say, “25¢ to Laugh,” “25¢ to Smile,” and “Don’t Postpone Joy!”

Miss Coney Island and Coney Island Always, along with Skin the Wire and two or three other games, are relocating from Jones Walk to booths on West 12th Street, which is City-owned property leased to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. Last month, the City’s Economic Development Corporation issued an RFP (Request for Proposals) for the booths on the east side of Jones Walk, a 1,650 square foot space that was purchased along with a larger parcel in 2008. The RFP requires renovating or completely rebuilding the existing booths, some of which are in poor condition. Proposals are due January 6th.