Amusing the Zillion

Coney Island 2015: Red Doors Bar & Grill Opens on North Side of Surf Ave.

May 14, 2015 by Tricia

The Red Doors Bar & Grill, 1205 Surf Avenue, Coney Island. May 13, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

Coney Island’s new Red Doors Bar & Grill opened its doors for drinks for the first time on Wednesday. ATZ sampled a raspberry lemonade (minus the vodka) from their cocktail menu. Restaurant consultant Gina Weinstein has put together a new menu and “cool, tattooish” decor mixing industrial design with posters of old Coney Island for this space on Surf Avenue near West 12th Street. Unlike many of the recently opened or soon-to-open eateries in Coney Island, it’s neither a chain nor a franchise! Red Doors’ owner Oleg says he expects the restaurant will open Memorial Day weekend.

Industrial design and posters of old Coney Island at The Red Doors Bar & Grill, May 13, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

Menu selections include fresh baked pretzels with spicy beer mustard, pulled pork sliders, chicken quesadilla, buffalo chicken spring rolls, Caesar salad, a variety of burgers, fries, beer battered onion rings, and donuts made to order.

For vegetarians, there’s veggies and hummus: “Balsamic grilled asparagus, red pepper, portobello, carrots, purple cabbage, roasted red pepper hummus. served with warm tortillas.”

Raspberry lemonade at Red Doors Bar & Grill, May 13, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

The new Mom & Pop joins Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, Applebee’s, Subway Cafe, Dunkin Donuts and Surf 12 Nightclub on the north side of Surf. IHOP, Checkers and Johnny Rockets franchises are under construction.

This location at 1205 Surf Avenue was formerly Bratva Bar and Coney Island Bar & Grill, which closed last year.

Red Doors Bar & Grill logo features the famous Steeplechase Funny Face and the Wonder Wheel

Coney Island Fireworks 2015: Every Friday Plus 8 Saturdays Including July 4

May 11, 2015 by Tricia

Electric Eden Revisited: Friday Night Fireworks with Wonder Wheel in Coney Island. Photo © Bruce Handy

Update: A special fireworks show is scheduled for September 12 between 9:30pm-10:30pm to cap off the Golden Ticket Awards Ceremony. Weather permitting, of course. See info here.

With Memorial Day just two weeks away, readers are starting to ask about Coney Island’s fireworks schedule for the summer! The first Friday night fireworks show of the 2015 season will be on June 19, the eve of both the first day of summer and the Mermaid Parade. This free weekly event continues on Fridays through August 21. UPDATE: Thanks to Coney Island’s City Councilman Mark Treyger, the Friday night fireworks have been extended to include August 28 and September 4. There are Saturday night fireworks on August 29 and September 5 after the Cyclones games. Details below. Friday night fireworks start at 9:30pm and are shot off from the beach. Best viewing is on the Boardwalk from West 10th to West 12th Streets or from the Wonder Wheel. Another popular viewing spot is Steeplechase Pier.

For the second year, the Alliance for Coney Island is presenting a special July 4th fireworks at 9:45pm. The Independence Day fireworks will be shot off from the beach adjacent to the Pier. Best viewing is from the Boardwalk and Steeplechase Plaza.

The Brooklyn Cyclones have also announced fireworks on the following eight Saturdays and one Thursday after their home games, including the team’s Home Opener on Saturday, June 20th. Fireworks at MCU Park start when the game is over, so the time varies and is sometimes later than 9:30. Since the Brooklyn Cyclones’ Fireworks are shot from inside their park, best viewing is within and close to the stadium, which is between West 16th and 19th Streets.

Saturday, June 20 – BROOKLYN CYCLONES HOME OPENER – vs. Staten Island Yankees – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, June 27 – vs. Connecticut – Toy Story 20th Anniversary Night, Boy Scout Sleepover – Post-Game Fireworks
Thursday, July 2 – vs. Hudson Valley – Back to the Future 30th Anniversary – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, July 11 – vs. Aberdeen – Star Wars Night – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, July 18 – vs. Vermont – Honeymooners 60th Anniversary Night, Princess & Pirate Night – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, August 1 – vs. Batavia – Honeymooners 60th Anniversary Night, Princess & Pirate Night – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, August 29 – vs. Aberdeen – Military Appreciation Night, Intern Boot Camp – Post-Game Fireworks
Saturday, September 5 – vs. Staten Island Yankees – Latin Music Night – Post-Game Fireworks

When the weather is iffy on a day when fireworks are scheduled, or if the show is delayed, check the Coney Island tweeters on Coney Island Fun’s list for updates. Thanks to People’s Playground photographer and resident Bruce Handy for his gorgeous photo of one of the Friday night fireworks shows of the past.

Coney’s Bowery To Get New Midway Games But Can It Get Its Groove Back?

May 8, 2015 by Tricia

It turns out that Dan Biederman’s consulting firm Biederman Redevelopment Ventures was hired by Thor Equities to manage and create programming for two lots in Coney Island. So what’s planned for Thor’s second long-vacant lot, on the Bowery across the street from where Coney Art Walls and Smorgasburg are set to debut? “Our programming is still in flux, though we hope to announce some exciting things next week,” Ben Donsky, BRV’s senior project manager, told ATZ. “There will probably be performances on both lots.”

Since Thor bought the property in 2006 and emptied out the bumper boats, go karts and batting cages, the lot has seen sporadic use, most infamously in 2009 as the failed Flea by the Sea. Its tattered tents can be seen in the photo above.

As for game trailers coming to the lot and kiosks being offered for rent this season, as the Coney Island Rumor Mill has been saying for months: “There are no actual ‘kiosks’ in our plans on the east side of Stillwell, at least right now,” Donsky says. “But Gordon Lee of the Eldorado is going to be putting up midway games along the Bowery.”

Balloon Dart on the Bowery, Coney Island

Can the Bowery get its groove back? Or will it get a complete redo? Coney’s Bowery from West 12th Street to Stillwell is a ghost town compared to the crowds it used to attract, particularly since McCullough’s Kiddie Park got pushed out in 2012. As a measure of how much has changed, the spot where the old-school Balloon Dart was located in the demolished Henderson Building is now occupied by the Brooklyn Nets Shop in Thor’s retail building, where Wahlburger’s is opening a rooftop dining area that will overlook the festivities unfolding on the lots this summer.