Amusing the Zillion

Photo Album: Street Art Down by the Coney Island Bowery

June 1, 2011 by Tricia

No Longer Empty in Coney Island: Polar Bear by Veng and ND'A painting Down by the Boardwalk. May 28, 2011. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

On Saturday in Coney Island, we passed by the Bowery side of Thor Equities’ blue construction fence to find an artist working on a Down by the Boardwalk-themed painting. It features a friendly octopus holding a boombox and a note saying “On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be.” Like the three street artists whose work we wrote about last month in “Photo Album: Whimsical Murals Blossom in Coney Island,” ND’A aka Nick was sent by the art organization No Longer Empty and the City’s Economic Development Corporation to beautify the streetscape.

ND'A painting Down by the Boardwalk. May 28, 2011. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Keith Schweitzer, who organized the mural project for No Longer Empty, told ATZ about the other new murals: “The polar bear – to the left of Nick’s octopus – is by Veng, the same artist who painted the semi-realistic faces and clown on the Stillwell wall. He’s a quiet, talented man and often full of surprises. He arrived at the wall that morning and said ‘I am going to paint a polar bear.’. It was later I found out that he & his family/friends take part in the Polar Bear Club activity at Coney Island each year. Like I said, he’s a quiet man, and I’m not sure if hearing about Rabbi Abraham Abraham’s recent passing away had anything to do with the subject of the mural.”

No Longer Empty in Coney Island: ND'A painting Down by the Boardwalk... May 28, 2011. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

As for the large CONEY letters guarded by New York’s Finest in the photo below, they were painted by OverUnder, who also painted the Stillwell Avenue side of the fence with Veng. “OverUnder did the whimsical swimmers and the heart ‘Love to Sea you,’ and other elements of the wall,” says Schweitzer. “On one of the days that we were painting Stillwell Ave, a newlywed couple walked toward OverUnder from the boardwalk having just taken post-wedding photos. They were in full wedding attire and asked OverUnder if he would paint something for them. OverUnder obliged, asking their names, and painted their initials H&B inside of a heart. That was not part of the planned composition, but it developed into the wonderful ‘tattoo’ heart and I am happy to see that many people stop to be photographed in front of the heart.”

No Longer Empty in Coney Island: CONEY by OverUnder. May 28, 2011. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

We’re happy to see these fanciful paintings bringing good vibrations to this decimated block. As previously noted, it’s a good solution to distract people’s attention from the construction fence and the empty lot at the gateway to Coney Island’s beach and boardwalk. Sad to say, the century-old Henderson Music Hall stood here until real estate speculator Joe “Blight for Spite” Sitt knocked it down in January. A pile driver was recently moved onto the lot at Surf and Stillwell. Behind the blue fence, a foundation for a high rise is being built, on top of which a placeholder one-story commercial building will be plopped next season. Nothing can quell my sorrow that we lost the zoning battle to keep high rises of up to 30 stories off the south side of Surf.

Update, June 14th…

Visit Vandalog to see photos of the latest mural on the blue wall: The street artist Radical has painted an ice-cream cone slurping hot dog!

Cat Photo of the Day: Target the Coney Island Cat at Work

May 31, 2011 by Tricia

Nobody makes calling in customers look easier than Target, the world-famous Coney Island Cat. All he has to do is sit in his spot on the counter of Jimmy’s Balloon Dart. 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.

When Target the Cat is not working, he likes to patrol the Bowery or hang out across the way at Deno’s Super Shot. Of course, Target and his owner, Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade, plan to ride the Wonder Wheel at the Coney Island park’s first annual Pet Day on June 11. The cat declined to enter the pet costume contest though. “He’s natural, ” Manny says.

Photo of the Day: Notice to All Park Users Effective May 23

May 24, 2011 by Tricia

“Notice to All Park Users…Effective May 23, 2011, smoking will not be allowed within the park. Thank you for your cooperation.” This solitary warning posted in a vitrine at the Parks Department’s restrooms on the Coney Island Boardwalk has been up for quite a few weeks. The citywide smoking ban at parks, beaches and plazas went into effect on Monday and the beach officially opens this weekend. The Wall Street Journal reported that Parks is in the process of putting up thousands of permanent signs and launching a media campaign to alert people to the new law.

If the ban is enforced, we expect to see smokers step off the Boardwalk onto the sidewalks of West 10th and 12th Streets just to have a cigarette. We also expect to see some interesting pix of people having a surreptitious smoke in Coney Island this summer, despite the ban.