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Coney Island Fireworks Show: Every Friday Plus 5 Saturdays

Posted in Events, tagged 2010, 2011, Boardwalk, Brooklyn, Coney Island, fireworks, free event, Friday night, New York City, Saturday on June 17, 2010| 11 Comments »

Door of the Grill House: Free Fireworks 9:30 Friday Night. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

UPDATE June 4, 2013: For 2013 Fireworks Schedule see “Coney Island Fireworks 2013: Fridays, 6 Saturdays and More…” The first Friday night fireworks show of Coney Island’s 2013 season will be on June 21 and this free weekly event continues every Friday through August 30.

UPDATE…May 25, 2011… Coney Island’s tradition of Friday night fireworks begins for the 2011 season on June 17 and continues through September 2. The pyrotechnic extravaganza starts at 9:30 pm. Best viewing is from the Boardwalk or the Wonder Wheel. Please patronize the main sponsors of the fireworks: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park; Luna Park, Scream Zone and the Cyclone; and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. In addition, the Brooklyn Cyclones have scheduled fireworks on the following five Saturdays after their home games as well as on one Wednesday and Sunday night:

Saturday, June 18th – OPENING DAY – vs. Staten Island
Saturday, June 25th – vs. Hudson Valley
Wednesday, June 29th – END OF SCHOOL SPECTACULAR – vs. Hudson Valley
Sunday, July 3rd – HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA – vs. Staten Island
Saturday, July 16th – Lowell
Saturday, August 6th – vs. Staten Island
Saturday, August 20th – DSNY APPRECIATION NIGHT – vs. Tri-City

When the weather is iffy, check the Coney Island tweeters on Coney Island Fun’s list for updates here.

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Coney Island’s first fireworks show of the 2010 season is this Friday, June 18th. On the eve of the Mermaid Parade! The free shows continue every Friday through September 3 and begin at approximately 9:30 pm. Best viewing is from the Boardwalk or the Wonder Wheel. Please patronize the main sponsors of the fireworks: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, the Cyclone Roller Coaster, Luna Park and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team.

The Brooklyn Cyclones also sponsor free post-game fireworks on Saturday nights when they play a home game. Saturday night fireworks in Coney Island are scheduled for July 3, July 10, July 31, August 7 and September 4, 2010

UPDATE June 19 Fireworks!!

This weekend is going to be a double header as far as fireworks: Walking by MCU Park on the way to the circus, we passed by the Brooklyn Cyclones banner advertising the fireworks and just realized there’s a show on Saturday, June 19! Catch the fireworks after the Brooklyn Cyclones opening game of the season or the Mermaid Parade and Ball. Either way, Saturday is going to be an even more eventful day than we thought.

Photo Album: Coney Island Arcade Fire’s Awful Aftermath

Posted in News, Photo Album, tagged Brooklyn, Coney Island, Coney Island Arcade, Fire on May 7, 2010| 3 Comments »

Fire marshals at Coney Island Arcade on the day after the fire. © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Fire marshals at Coney Island Arcade on the day after the fire. May 6, 2010. © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

The day after the devastating fire at Coney Island Arcade, workers were busy clearing away debris and cutting planks to enclose the building at Bowery and 12th Street. We joined a group of amusement operators and owners surveying the damage and lamenting the terrible loss of our friend Manny’s arcade. Manny Cohen, owner and operator of Coney Island Arcade, was en route to New York after attending an amusement expo in China. His friends on Coney’s Bowery had stayed up all night guarding the contents of the arcade. Lights from the rides across the street shone into the open arcade. The FDNY had to saw open the metal shutters and break through the roof to fight the stubborn fire, which took more than two-and-a-half hours to put out.

The Day After the Fire at Coney Island Arcade. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

The Day After the Fire at Coney Island Arcade. May 6, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

One amusement operator alleged the fire was caused by the use of a propane torch by roofers who had been tarring the arcade’s roof on May 5th, the day of the fire. He claimed that when the roofers showed up the next day a fire marshal was waiting to arrest them. A quick search on the web turned up the info that it is illegal to use a propane torch on a combustible roof. According to an article by NYARM (New York Association of Realty Managers), “New York City Fire Chief Marshal Louis Garcia, Bureau of Fire Investigation, issued a directive, effective June 22, 1999, regarding what he described as ‘the reckless and illegal practice of using propane torches in installing modified roofing material on combustible [wood deck] roofs, and establishing guidelines for the arrest and prosecution of individuals and companies responsible for this reckless behavior. The penalty for violating these rules, built into the rules themselves, is arrest for endangerment of property. Further, anyone sanctioning the illegal use of propane on roofs, including board members, engineers or architects, attorneys who draw up contracts, managing agents and roofing companies, can all be subject to arrest!'”

The Day After the Fire at Coney Island Arcade. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Another operator recalled that some of Coney Island’s most notorious fires had been caused by roof tarring. The Hell Gate fire which destroyed Dreamland Park in 1911 was among them. Hell Gate was a boat ride through the caverns of hell. “The fire started around 2 A.M., from an explosion of some light bulbs that were near a pail of tar in the Hellgate that was being repaired. Built of pine, paper mache and freshly painted for the new season, the fire spread very quickly,” according to the FDNY’s unofficial history page.

The Day After the Fire at Coney Island Arcade. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

The Coney Island Arcade occupied a century-old timber frame building. Sources say the structure was damaged beyond repair by the fire and will have to be torn down. The building is owned by Jeff Persily. Just to clarify a popular misconception: Real estate speculator Joe Sitt of Thor Equities does not own the building, though he does own the adjacent Bank of Coney Island Building.

We’re told the arcade machines suffered water damage and are a total loss. Coney Island Arcade’s water race game, balloon dart and other games occupy an adjoining steel frame building, which was not damaged by the fire. The games are already open for business today.

Adjoining game concessions were in a steel building and have already reopened for business. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Will Coney Island Arcade be rebuilt and back in business anytime soon? We hope so. It’s painful to see a burned out building where a thriving business was just last weekend. It will be painful to see this corner become an empty lot. The fire is a huge loss, not only for Manny Cohen, but for the entire amusement community in Coney Island. We hope the building owner takes a cue from the activity just down the street, where workers are laboring round the clock to finish the new Luna Park in time for the May 29th grand opening.

Photo of the Day: The “E” is Relit in Coney Island Sign at Stillwell

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Brooklyn, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, maintenance, MTA, Stillwell Terminal on March 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Lighted Sign at Coney Island's Stillwell Terminal. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Yesterday we received a message that the “E” in CONEY had finally been fixed and was two-third’s lit! And the crooked “L” in ISLAND had been straightened out, too! Yay and hooray! We’re almost tempted to say the repair of the Stillwell Terminal’s signature sign after months of neglect presages the rebirth of Coney Island.

One thing for sure, somebody at the MTA must read blogs. Last week ATZ posted “Will MTA Ever Fix Burned out “E” in Coney Island Sign at Stillwell?” The light had been out for several months and complaints to the MTA that the darkened E ruined an iconic photo op at the showplace station went nowhere. Thanks to curbed for reblogging our plea that the light be fixed in time for the opening day of Coney’s comeback season.

This morning on the way to work photographer and Coney Island resident Bruce Handy took these historic first photos of the relit E. “The people waiting for the bus must have thought I was crazy taking photos at 5:30 in the morning. But you never know, later today the E could be fully lit. I wanted to capture the 2/3 look.” Actually he found “BIG E is 4/5 Lit.”

We’re looking forward to taking a picture perfect shot of the front of the station sometime soon. Burned out bulbs on building have yet to be replaced. Maybe tomorrow?