Amusing the Zillion

May 4: Speak up to Landmark the Coney Island Boardwalk

May 3, 2016 by Tricia

First Snow. December 26, 2010. Photo © Bruce Handy via flickr

Dear friends, if you truly love Coney Island, then get yourself to City Hall on Wednesday, May 4th, to speak up to landmark the Boardwalk. Stay away and we’ll be forever damned to walk the Coney Island Concretewalk. Fail to show up and the patterns of freshly fallen snow on the slatted boards will one day exist only in archival photographs.

The City Council’s Land Use Committee is meeting at 11 AM to hear testimony on Coney Island Councilman Mark Treyger’s resolution calling for the boardwalk to be designated a scenic landmark. In February, 48 City Council Members, as well as Public Advocate Letitia James, signed on to the resolution, yet the Landmarks Preservation Commission remains silent. If it were not for Treyger’s tireless efforts on behalf of the boardwalk, this issue would have vanished from the public eye.

The City’s other scenic landmarks and dates of designation are Morningside Park (2008), Fort Tryon Park (1983) Bryant Park (1974), Central Park (1974), Riverside Park and Riverside Drive (1980), Verdi Square (1975), Eastern Parkway (1978), Grand Army Plaza (1974), Ocean Parkway (1975) and Prospect Park (1975). Doesn’t Coney Island’s world-famous boardwalk deserve to be among this illustrious company? May 15 is the 93rd anniversary of the Riegelmann Boardwalk’s official opening. See you tomorrow at City Hall and let’s make it a celebration.

Rita’s of Coney Island Has New Owner, Open 7 Days A Week

April 13, 2016 by Tricia

Rita’s Coney Island on Surf Avenue and West 15th Street. April 9, 2016.

Rita’s Italian Ice on Surf Avenue across from the Thunderbolt roller coaster has a new owner, Joseph DeAngelis, and a brand-new schedule. It is no longer closed for the Jewish Sabbath – from dusk on Friday until sundown on Saturday– and is now open 7 days a week. That means you can get a frozen custard for the first time on Fireworks Fridays and on Saturday afternoons. Hours are noon to 10:00pm, with later hours during the summer months.

Two years ago, this Rita’s franchise brought back frozen custard, one of Coney Island’s lost delights, to its place of origin. The dessert made its debut in 1919 when the Kohr brothers opened a stand on the Coney Island Boardwalk, selling 18,460 cones for a nickel apiece on the first weekend! Kohr’s Frozen Custard is still in business on the Boardwalks at Seaside Heights and Casino Pier on the Jersey Shore but Kohr’s has shown no interest in making a Coney Island comeback. Businesses in Coney which sell ice cream, gelato or soft serve hadn’t made any move to bring back frozen custard either, despite the recommendations of old-timers.

“Rita’s products are prepared under Star-K Kosher supervision and non-dairy is still pareve,” says DeAngelis, who is one of the franchise’s top operators, with five locations in New York’s Dutchess County. The Coney Island store has a clientele that reaches beyond seasonal visitors to the amusement area. It was a destination for Jewish residents of Brooklyn seeking kosher ices, nevertheless the business was struggling, according to DeAngelis. He was brought in by Rita’s to make a success of the location. Unlike the previous owners, who were observant Jews, DeAngelis is Catholic and does not have to close for Shabbat.

The storefront got a fresh coat of paint and has already opened for the season, but DeAngelis says he’s planning a grand-re-opening celebration. Rita’s offers Italian ice, frozen custard, layered gelati, sundaes with a choice of toppings, sugar-free treats, and trademark items that blend Italian ice with frozen custard. The business is among a growing number of national and international franchises and chains leasing space on high-priced Surf Avenue in the new Coney Island.

Frozen custard from Rita’s Italian Ice. Photo via Facebook.com/RitasItalianIceCompany

Posted in Food | Tagged frozen custard, Joseph deAngelis, Rita's Italian Ice, Rita's of Coney Island, Surf Avenue | 5 Comments »

Thor’s Coney Island: Coney Art Walls Return Minus Smorgasburg, Go Karts May Be On The Way

April 8, 2016 by Tricia

Coney Art Walls Mural painted by Marie Roberts in 2015 will be replaced by a new Roberts mural this season.

Coney Art Walls, an art project curated by Jeffrey Deitch that turned Thor Equities’ vacant lot behind Nathan’s into a pop culture destination last summer will be back in 2016. Seven murals painted on concrete, will stay for another season. Most of the other walls have been sandblasted and are blank canvases awaiting a new group of artists set to begin painting this spring.

“We are working on the artist line up for Coney Art Walls upcoming season,” Ethel Seno, who manages and coordinates the project for Jeffrey Deitch, told ATZ.

The art walls are interspersed with colorful shipping containers that housed Red Hook Lobster Pound, Home Frites, Bon Chovie and several other Smorgasburg vendors last summer. The cafe tables and chairs amid the art walls were a welcome amenity in Coney Island where there is a dearth of public seating. Thor Equities is close to finalizing an agreement to bring a new food operator because Smorgasburg will not be sending its vendors to Coney Island in 2016. “Not this year for us,” Eric Demby, co-founder of Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg told ATZ.

Smorgasburg vendors Blue Marble Ice Cream and New Yorkina in shipping container pop-ups at Coney Art Walls. May 23, 2015. Photo © Tricia Vita

Last year, Thor’s vacant lot across the street, bounded by Stillwell Avenue and West 12th Street, hosted a popular trapeze school, wrestling matches and other entertainments, and an outdoor cafe. A banner advertising the lot for lease went up in the middle of March. On Thursday, some heavy machinery was brought it to break up the asphalt, lending credence to the idea that we heard from the Coney Island Rumor Mill. A go kart track is said to be the next new thing there, and possibly a miniature golf course.

If it turns out to be true, it’s great news and proof that everything old is new again in Coney Island. Go karts and mini golf were among the amusements evicted by Thor CEO Joe Sitt when he first bought the property in 2007.

As for Thor Equities newly acquired properties on the Bowery, sources tell ATZ the mom and pop concessionaires and food operators got a new lease with only a slight rent increase – due in three payments– but the cost of their insurance policy has tripled. Please patronize Coney Island’s independent operators this summer!