Amusing the Zillion

Video: Today’s Snow Swim with Coney Island Polar Bears

December 26, 2010 by Tricia

Are you ready for the Coney Island Polar Bear Club’s New Year’s Day plunge? Whether you plan to swim or spectate, this high-spirited vid of today’s snowy Sunday swim should put you in the mood. “Water temp 40 outside is 24. Coney expecting 13″ of snow – the bears go for a dip at the start of the snowstorm,” says Rubyshost, who is a Polar Bear and shot the video both in and out of the water.

The Coney Island Polar Bears swim at 1 pm every Sunday from November through April. The club has 140 regular members, but the New Year’s Day event attracts hundreds of first timers. Last year about 1,000 swimmers participated, said Polar Bear president Dennis Thomas. The world-famous event is a fundraiser to benefit Camp Sunshine. Participants are requested to raise a minimum of $100 in pledges. The 2010 swim raised over $23,000 for the retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses. To register for the 2011 New Year’s Day Plunge or sponsor a swimmer, visit www.freezinforareason.com.

Coney Island Polar Bear Club, New Year’s Day Plunge, January 1, 2011 at 1 pm. Riegelmann Boardwalk, Coney Island

Happy Holidays from Amusing the Zillion

December 24, 2010 by Tricia

Christmas Window at Caravansary, 115-A Greenwich Ave in the Village. December 23, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The rides are closed for the winter in Coney Island, but in a shop window in the West Village, we found a toy carnival awhirl amid Christmas ornaments. There’s even a roller coaster called “Cyclone.”

Posted in Photography | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Window, Shop Window, Toy Carnival | 5 Comments »

Coney Island Christmas Wish List: $12M Shore Theater

December 23, 2010 by Tricia

Shore Theater for Sale. Dec 19, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Since the Shore Theater became an official New York City landmark last week, the “For Sale” banners on its scaffolding have beckoned. ATZ phoned the broker to ask a) the price and b) if we could get a peek inside. Hey, we’re curious. The Shore Theater was built at the same time as the Cyclone roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel, yet it’s been dark for as long as we’ve been coming to Coney Island. The theater closed in the 1970s.

If buying the Shore and saving it from 35 years of neglect is on your Christmas Wish List, please be a millionaire. The building will cost you $12 million. Fillmore broker Lenny Libman says he has “a few prospective buyers” as well as businesses looking to lease the ground floor. He does not think the City will buy it. As for a peek inside, we’re still working on it. Libman says, “It would be taking your life into your own hands” due to the condition of the interior.

The building’s owner Horace Bullard wouldn’t allow anyone inside prior to the designation because he feared the building would be landmarked, says Libman. Even HBO’s hit show “Boardwalk Empire” has failed to get their foot in the door. Ironically the Shore Theater was landmarked anyway, though only the exterior was considered for designation at this time. Elisabeth de Bourbon of the Landmarks Preservation Commission told ATZ that by law the commission may consider only those buildings which are “customarily open to the public” for interior designation.

New York City has 110 buildings with landmarked interiors, including Grand Central Station and the lobbies of the Empire State and Woolworth Buildings, as well as such Broadway theaters as the Majestic, Martin Beck, Ambassador and Beacon.