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Thor’s Coney Island: Generic New Building at Surf & Stillwell

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Brooklyn, Coney Island, New Construction, Thor Equities on February 2, 2012| 23 Comments »

Exiting Stillwell Terminal in the new Coney Island, the first sight one sees is Thor Equities generic looking new building. January 29, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

What’s the opposite of “Ta Da”? After seven years of real estate speculation and many grandiose renderings, the construction fencing came down from Thor Equities first-ever new construction in Coney Island (flea market tents don’t count) to reveal a sterile-looking building suited for a suburban mall. It’s located on the southeast corner of Surf and Stillwell, the gateway to Coney’s Beach and Boardwalk as well as Scream Zone’s roller coasters and thrill rides.

The generic new building is the first sight visitors see in Coney Island as they exit Stillwell Terminal. We’d be surprised if it contains any rides, arcades or carny games. During the construction, Thor Equities had a sign atop the fence touting “CONEY ISLAND – The RETAIL RIDE of a LIFETIME – for leasing contact…”

View from DNALSI YENOC of Thor Equities New Building. January 29, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The building has yet to sport any signs of tenants, but the Coney Island Rumor Mill has been saying for months that a Johnny Rockets (“The Original Hamburger,” founded in 1986 in L.A.) is coming to the Surf Avenue side. Hat retailer Lids–too bad it’s not the quirky Susquehanna Hat Company that HBO’s Bored to Death brought to Jones Walk/Bagel Street–is rumored for one of the stores. If it’s true, we’ll find out soon enough: Coney Island’s opening day is just two months away. Memorial Day is in four months. What would you like to see on this corner across the street from the iconic Nathan’s Famous?

Thor's Coney Island: Stillwell Avenue side of Joe Sitt's sterile and suburban looking new building in the new Coney Island. January 29, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

It’s not as if we expected a Freakenspiel carousel and water fountain topped by a pyrotechnic elephant. That concept was part of Joe Sitt’s grandiose pitch back in 2005. Just for fun, check out the “Coney Island Rendering Hit Parade Pop Quiz,” a 2007 post by Brooklyn’s Blogfather Bob Guskind on the real estate blog Curbed. A lot has changed in the seven years since the real estate speculator began buying up property in Coney Island’s amusement zone. Sitt’s new building was reportedly built with a foundation suitable for a much taller structure. The site was one of four on the south side of Surf rezoned by the City in 2009 for a 30-story hotel.

The Henderson Music Hall stood on this corner for more than a century until Sitt had it demolished along with two other buildings in 2010, putting an end to Save Coney Island’s efforts to create an historic district. The Henderson was the longtime home of Popeye’s Chicken, the Fascination video game arcade, Velocity Nightclub and amusement games like Shoot Out the Star (open year round!), Clown Water Race and Balloon Dart. All lost their leases or were evicted. The old tenants are not expected to return to the new building, where rents are said to be over $100 per square foot, according to the rumor mill. Popeye’s found a new space a few doors down in the Popper Building for one third the price of what Thor was said to have asked for the equivalent of their former space.

Thinkwell's rendering for Thor's Temporary One-Story Building in Coney Island. April 2010. Via The New York Observer

In April 2010, Thor Equities released this rendering of a cheesy looking temporary one-story building occupied by hamburger and taco food joints. And a statement: “With the work we are commencing today, by Memorial Day, 2011, all of our parcels along Surf Avenue are scheduled to be activated with family-friendly games, food, shopping and other activities that visitors to, and residents of, Coney are clamoring for….”

Video of the Day: Climbing Coney Island’s Parachute Jump

Posted in Photography, video, tagged Brooklyn, Charles Denson, childhood dream, Coney Island, landmark, Parachute Jump, Seth Kaufman, Steeplechase Park on January 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

Just watching this video of Coney historian Charles Denson climbing the 270-foot tall Parachute Jump gives us vertigo. Ten years ago, when the landmarked Jump was about to get a $5 million refurbishment, we did a story for Preservation that featured a striking portrait of Denson standing atop the tower. Denson’s 10-minute film of the climb, released today via his “Coneyologist” Channel on YouTube, features video footage by Seth Kaufman and his own exquisite photos.

The Coney Island native, who came of age riding the Parachute Jump with his dad in Steeplechase Park, told us: “That ride—there was nothing like it, before or since. Just when you thought, ‘It can’t go any higher,’ the chute hit the top and exploded. You were flying in a free fall. Then it billowed open and you sailed down.”

Originally designed by a retired Naval commander to train military paratroopers in the 1930s, parachute towers were modified into amusement attractions when civilians clamored to ride. Denson last soared from the Jump’s tower in 1962, two years before the great granddaddy of vertical-thrill rides, along with the rest of Steeplechase Park, closed forever.

In 2002, Denson fulfilled his childhood dream to once again see the view from the top. He writes:

The Jump was a nature preserve. The motor room base was filled with pigeon nests and covered with muddy footprints of the raccoons who fed on the eggs. A raptor circled us at the top as we disturbed its perch, and the feet of the many small birds it had caught and devoured were spread out across the catwalks. I grew up a few blocks from the Jump and have documented it since it closed. When the city decided to dismantle and renovate the Jump ten years ago, my engineer friend Seth Kaufman had the only copy of the original plans. The city needed them so we made a deal: We got to climb it legally.

If you think it would be crazy fun to scale Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower, keep in mind Denson has issued a warning remarkably similar to that of a sideshow sword swallower: “Do NOT try this on your own. It is extremely dangerous and chances are that you will die.”

Update: Coney Island’s 1st Private Beachfront Condos on Boardwalk

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged beachfront condominium, Boardwalk, Brooklyn, Bruce Handy, condo, Coney Island, residential on December 20, 2011| 9 Comments »

Over the weekend ATZ got to wondering whatever happened to the condos under construction on the Boardwalk at West 32nd Street? There continues to be a lot of interest in this property. “New Construction: Coney Island’s 1st Private Beachfront Condos on Boardwalk” (ATZ, February 17, 2011) is among Amusing the Zillion’s Top 10 Coney Island News Stories of 2011, our year-end post, which we’re working on now.

Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy, whose Sunday walk took him in that direction, sent us the above photo. “There were no for sale or rent signs on the condo fence, only construction signs,” he said. It turns out the four-story building, which has 11 units including 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, is still under construction. Though it appears to be almost finished, construction is stalled for now. According to the DOB website, there’s a partial stop work order on the property due to two open ECB “Work Without A Permit” Violations. One is for doing electrical work on a Saturday without a variance permit. The second is for installing scaffolding without a permit. An administrative hearing is pending.

Beachfront Condos Under Construction on Boardwalk at 32nd St, Coney Island. February 17, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via Android

The long-vacant, 6,779-square-foot beachfront lot was purchased by New Vision Capital for $1.5 million in 2009. “NVC’s primary focus is the identification of intermediate and longer term opportunities, where positive cash flow and/or impressive capital appreciation are anticipated,” the company’s website says. On Monday, a rep at NVC told ATZ that they hope to complete construction by year’s end and that the penthouse and a few of the three bedrooms are sold. Current prices are $510,000 for a one-bedroom, $685,000 for a two-bedroom and $840,00 to $910,000 for a three-bedroom unit. In February, the asking price for the penthouse was $1.55 million. As we wrote then:

Located in the West End of Coney Island, across the street from the NYC Housing Authority’s Coney Island Houses, this new construction is a harbinger of more beachfront residential to come. The rezoning plan approved by the City Council in 2009 put 26 high rise residential towers and 5,000 new units of housing in Coney Island, including beachfront condos on Taconic Investment Partners 5.5 blocks of vacant land just west of MCU Park (West 20th Street).