Amusing the Zillion

Update on Coney Island Cat ‘Snow Coney’ & His Family

December 10, 2013 by Tricia

Snow Coney the Coney Island Cat Recuperating at Manhattan Cat Specialists. December 8, 2013. Photo by Amusing the Zillion

On Sunday, ATZ visited Snow Coney, the Coney Island cat who was rescued last month and is recuperating nicely at Manhattan Cat Specialists after a blood transfusion that saved his life. Though he is still taking antibiotics, our comeback cat is looking good thanks to the expert care he has received from Dr. Plotnick and the staff at MCS.

“I am pretty sure we can pick him up in the next day or two, but it was truly a struggle to get him to survive,” says PJ McKosky of Empty Cages Collective, who rushed the cat to MCS the day after we brought him to a vet in Brooklyn who works with Empty Cages. “He was so close to dying.”

Rescued in Coney Island: Snow Coney the Cat En Route to Vet. November 15, 2013. Photo by Amusing the Zillion

Along with Carolyn McCrory, who works in the amusement area, and Dianna Carlin of Lola Star Boutique, we rescued this very sick cat and named him “Snow Coney” in honor of his white coat and his birthplace. MCS veterinary technicians Liliana Rene and Gina Manes say the Coney Island cat has a great personality and they would adopt him if they did not already have cats.

If you would like to adopt Snow Coney or any of the other rescue cats at Empty Cages Collective, please visit their Facebook page to have a look and fill out an application. Manhattan Cat Specialists also has cats up for adoption and a lively Facebook page with news of cats in New York and around the world.

Snow Coney the Coney Island Cat Recuperating at Manhattan Cat Specialists. December 8, 2013. Photo by Gina Manes

Sadly, Snow Coney’s sibling died, but his mother–a former house cat—and her new kittens were also rescued in Coney Island and are now in an Empty Cages Collective foster home. “They were also sick –anemic also and the babies had bacterial infections– but nothing like Snow Coney,” said McKosky. “Of course, the babies and mom will all need to receive vaccines, deworming, spay/neuter when they are bigger, testing for FIV/FELV on top of all the care they are getting now.”

Empty Cages Collective is an all-volunteer organization. You can support the work they do for New York City’s animals by donating or volunteering to become a foster home and following their Facebook page.

UPDATE December 15, 2013:

Lucky, lucky Snow Coney will have a forever home at Christmas! The Coney Island cat who was rescued exactly one month ago and nearly died, left the hospital yesterday and is already going to his forever home today. If you are able to, please thank Empty Cages Collective for all that they do–they really do take on the hard cases such as animals who require a lot of medical care– and support new rescues by making a donation or volunteering your time.

Snow Coney’s Mom and her new kittens are currently at an Empty Cages Collective Foster Home. November 18, 2013 Photo By Lola Star.

Photo Album: First Snow of the Season in Coney Island by Bruce Handy

December 9, 2013 by Tricia

Coney First Snow: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. December 8, 2013. Photo Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

In past years, ATZ has posted Bruce Handy’s first snow of the season photos in December and January and once in October during the weather event known as Snowtober. On Sunday night, the Coney Island photographer went for his first snow of the season stroll on the Boardwalk and Pier. We selected images of the amusement parks and rides enveloped in the quietness of a snowfall. It couldn’t be more of a contrast to the boisterous days of summer. You can see the complete set in the photographer’s Coney Island Photo Diary.

Coney’s First Snow: Wonder Wheel Sign. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney’s First Snow: Wonder Wheel. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney’s First Snow: Cyclone Roller Coaster. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney’s First Snow: Luna Park’s Pinwheels. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney’s First Snow: Scream Zone. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Coney’s First Snow: B&B Carousell. December 8, 2013. Photo © Bruce Handy/Coney Island Photo Diary via flickr

Thor’s Coney Island: Weekend Work for Hazmat Men

December 8, 2013 by Tricia

Guys in Hazmat suits doing interior demo work at Thor Equities-owned building at 1106 Surf Ave, December 7, 2013. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

On Saturday, we were alarmed to receive a call about men in hazmat suits starting interior demolition on Thor Equities-owned Grashorn, Coney Island’s oldest building. Asked by a pedestrian if there was danger, a worker replied they were doing demolition. The work continued through the weekend. A dumpster in front of the building filled up with sheetrock, ductwork insulation, and mattresses. There are no permits posted, nor are there any work permits on the DOB website for the buildings at 1102-1106 Surf Avenue. Anonymous tipsters sent us these photos.

Last month ATZ posted “Rumor Mill Says Coney’s Oldest Building To be Demolished” (ATZ, November 15, 2013). Was the Rumor Mill right? As it turns out, the demo crew was working next door to the Grashorn building where Henry Grashorn’s hardware store was in the 1880s. They are doing interior demo in the neighboring space that was G. Grashorn’s Groceries. The buildings also housed the Grashorn family’s hotel but due to alterations to the facade were not considered eligible for landmarking by the City’s Landmark’s Commission.

Thor Equities-owned buildings on Surf Ave, December 7, 2013. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

We’ll look into the matter of the permits this week. In the past, there’s been a lag on updates to the DOB site. In 2010, Thor’s teardown of the Henderson Music Hall caught people by surprise as the asbestos abatement that preceded the demo got underway. Also without any permits posted, it should be noted.

The storefronts at 1106 Surf Avenue are newly vacant, having been occupied by Gameworld arcade, a pina colada stand and other concessions for the past four seasons. The neighboring Grashorn building at 1102-1104 Surf Avenue, which also has frontage on Jones Walk, has been vacant since 2008 as ATZ reported in “The New Coney Island: A Tale of Two Jones Walks” (ATZ, Sept. 2, 2013).

The Grashorn no longer has a C of O after having been gutted, though it looked great as the Susquehanna Hat Company in an episode of HBO’s Bored to Death in 2011. Save Coney Island has published renderings showing the potential of the building if restored. Henry Grashorn was a founding director of the Bank of Coney Island, the Mardi Gras Association and the Coney Island Church and Rescue Home. His hardware store catered to Coney Island’s amusement businesses for six decades and the building later housed shooting galleries, arcades, and cotton candy and taffy stands.

Dumpster at Thor Equities Building on Surf Ave, Coney Island. December 7, 2013. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

In addition to the Henderson, Thor CEO Joe Sitt demolished two other historic Surf Avenue properties–the Bank of Coney Island and the Shore Hotel in 2010, after his lots on the south side of Surf were rezoned by the city for 30 story hotels. Only the buildings that once housed the Grashorn hardware and grocery store remain. If Coney Island’s oldest is going down to become another empty lot to add to Joe Sitt’s collection of empty lots in Coney Island, it won’t happen unnoticed. We promise to make a lot of noise.

Thor Equities purchased the Grashorn (1102-1104 Surf Ave.) for $1.4 million in 2005 and the adjacent building at 1106 for $2.2 million in 2006, according to Property Shark.

UPDATE December 9, 2013:

Sources say the FDNY inspected the building last week and the property owner was fined and required to clean the fire hazard caused by squatters. Squatters have been living there since at least 2010. It takes the FDNY to get Thor to maintain their property and keep it safe? The public cannot access the FDNY’s database but has to put in a request for a search which takes 10 days and costs 10 bucks. Betcha 20 we’ll have more info from the Rumor Mill sooner than that!