Bruce Handy | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Bruce Handy’

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 »

The E Is Fixed: 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?

Iconic Photo Op: BIG E is 4/5 Lit. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Photo of the Day: Snow Mermaid on Coney Island Beach

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Photography, Rabbit Island, Snow mermaid, snowy beach on February 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Snow Mermaid on Coney Island Beach. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Coney Island resident and contributing photographer Bruce Handy/pablo 57 went for a walk on the snowy beach and came back with photos of a coney-eared, that is a rabbit-eared, snowman. It’s very clever since Coney Island was originally named Konijn Eiland, or Rabbit Island, by the Dutch.

“It’s a snow mermaid, started out male and then someone put bunny ears on him, now female. Hermaphrodite snow mermaid,” says the photographer. “Looka, looka, looka step right up, only in Coney Island.” S/he is ready for her/his closeup here.

February is being called the snowiest month in the City’s history since 1869. “Snow was about 8 inches on the beach. Watched the sun light up the sky as it set over the water,” says Bruce. “Won’t be long, maybe a few weeks, before the sun moves back north and the sun will set over land.”

Bruce Handy’s Photo Album: Doomed Dreamland Artist Club Mural

Posted in art, Photo Album, tagged Bruce Handy, Coney Island, demolition alert, Dreamland Artist Club, Jones Walk, mural, Rita Ackermann on January 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Over the weekend ATZ contributing photographer and Coney Island resident Bruce Handy/”Pablo 57″ took some lyrical photos of the Rita Ackermann mural. The artwork is on the west wall of the soon-to-be demolished Feltman’s Building. You can view the complete flickr set as a slideshow here.

Freaky Sideshow Girls: Detail of Dreamland Artist Club Mural by Rita Ackermann on the soon-to-be Demolished Feltman’s Kitchen (Home of the Hot Dog), Coney Island. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

As ATZ reported last week in “Nathan Slept Here! Coney Island’s Feltman’s Kitchen Set for Demolition” (January 19, 2010), the last remnant of the hot dog inventor’s empire is set to be demolished to make way for new amusements on the City-owned “Parcel A”—the former Astroland site. The Ackermann mural, which was valued at $250K by Dreamland Artist Club founder Steve Powers, is likely to be demolished along with the building. (“Demolition Alert: Dreamland Artist Club Mural on Feltman’s Bldg“)

Photographing the mural wasn’t an easy job, but somebody had to do it. ATZ found very few pix of this mural on the web. We’re grateful that Bruce Handy documented details of the Jones Walk artwork before it is gone forever. Bruce used a tripod and held the camera up in the air to take a photo of the complete mural.

“The problem is the mural is in a bad spot for a good photo,” says the photographer. “It’s too high and the angle is bad. To get a good photo you need a zoom lens standing on W 12th, but you also need a straight line of sight. You need to be perpendicular to the wall that’s why you need to be so far away. The ideal photo would be if someone drove a car up there and stood on the roof. That’s how Ansel Adams got all his great photos.”

Dreamland Artist Club Mural by Rita Ackermann on the soon-to-be demolished Feltman’s Kitchen (Home of the Hot Dog), Coney Island. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr