Amusing the Zillion

Photo of the Day: Ruby’s Old Tyme Bar by Kenny Lombardi

October 9, 2011 by Tricia

Ruby’s Bar was closed on Saturday for Yom Kippur, but they’re open today and every day at 11 am till the end of October. Last fall, there were a slew of “last call” parties at Ruby’s, but sadly this year’s goodbye party on October 29th really is goodbye. The fact that Ruby’s merited a Critics’ Picks in New York Magazine and was voted one of the World’s 21 Sexiest Beach Bars by the Travel Channel means nothing to people bent on gentrifying and corporatizing the Boardwalk. As we wrote yesterday, the one-year reprieve is over for the Boardwalk Mom-and-Pops who were first served “surrender the premises” notices by Zamperla’s Central Amusement International last November.

Seven businesses–Ruby’s Bar, Paul’s Daughter, Cha Cha’s, Gyro Corner, Steve’s Grill House, Beer Island and the Suh family’s Coney Island Souvenir Shop– must vacate their City-owned storefronts by November 4, 2011 as per the terms of the one-year lease extension.

ATZ is saying goodbye to old friends with a favorite photo a day from October 8 through November 4. Click the tag “Countdown to Corporatization” to find all of the photos. Thanks to Kenny Lombardi–KeneL9999 on flickr– who frequently photographs Coney Island and its denizens, for this timeless photo of Ruby’s Old Tyme Bar and Grill.

UPDATE October 27, 2011, 11:40 am

Ruby’s “Final Closing Party” was changed to Sunday, October 30, due to weather forecast for Saturday. Same time–11am till ??–same place. Check Ruby’s Facebook page for updates.

Coney Island Winter: Garland Jeffreys Live on Letterman

October 9, 2011 by Tricia

Released in the spring, the Garland Jeffreys album “The King of In Between” has been called “as uncannily fresh and forceful as the songs on his debut record, from 1973” by the New Yorker. You’ll see why in this video of Garland Jeffreys and the Coney Island Playboys’ live performance of “Coney Island Winter” on “The Late Show with David Letterman” on Friday night.

The Brooklyn-born singer songwriter grew up in Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Coney Island, and riffs on the “Twenty-two stops to the city” from his boyhood turf in “Coney Island Winter.” You can read the lyrics in “Hail, Hail Garland Jeffreys! Coney Island Has a New Anthem,” (ATZ, March 15, 2011). We’d love to see a live performance on the Boardwalk!

Garland Jeffreys last New York area shows of the year are coming up at the Highline Ballroom on October 14 and At the Tabernacle in Mt Tabor, NJ on October 22. Says Jeffreys on his Facebook page: “And then comes Nashville, Chicago, Austin, Houston, Montreal, Toronto, Los Angeles, and more !!!!”

Posted in Music, Music Video | Tagged Coney Island Winter, Garland Jeffreys, King of In Between | Leave a Comment »

Photo of the Day: “The Chief” of the Coney Island Boardwalk

October 8, 2011 by Tricia

When we stopped by Paul’s Daughter last Monday, “The Chief” called out “light, no sugar” to a helper and offered us coffee and cookies. Paul Georgoulakos, 82, is the oldest operator on the Coney Island Boardwalk and beloved by all except the Bloomberg administration, which purchased the property occupied by his restaurant from Thor Equities, and Zamperla’s Luna Park, which leases it from the City. As Paul’s daughter Tina told ATZ earlier this year: “I wanted so much to be a part of the New Coney Island but they didn’t even offer me a tiny little spot on the Boardwalk.”

The Boardwalk restaurant formerly known as Gregory & Paul’s, a masterpiece of vernacular signage established in 1962, is being kicked out to make way for a soulless cafeteria run by Sodexo. The French multinational is the world’s largest food services management company and the world’s 21st largest corporation. In Coney Island, Sodexo also operates the new Cyclone Cafe on Surf Avenue, though you won’t find their name on the marquee. Apparently Luna Park’s “partner for one-site service solutions” likes to keep a low profile in the People’s Playground.

The City’s revitalization plan calls for year-round restaurants in Coney Island’s amusement zone. On Monday, Paul’s Daughter as well as Ruby’s Bar, Gyro Corner and the Suh family’s souvenir shop, whose days on the Boardwalk are also coming to an end, were open as usual. Sodexo’s Cyclone Cafe was shut tight as a drum.

With 27 days left until seven Mom & Pops are kicked off the Coney Island Boardwalk, ATZ will be saying goodbye to old friends with a favorite photo a day. The seven businesses must vacate the premises by November 4th. The one-year reprieve is over. If you have a photo, new or old, that you’d like to contribute, please post a link below or send to hello[AT]triciavita[dot}com