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Posts Tagged ‘cat’

Evicted Coney Island Cat & Cohorts Get One Month Reprieve

Posted in News, Photo of the Day, Photography, Real Estate, tagged cat, Coney Island Arcade, eviction, Manny Cohen, Target the Cat, tourist on January 16, 2013| 4 Comments »

Japanese Tourists Line Up to Photograph Target the Coney Island Cat. Photo © Coney Island Arcade

Nathan’s Famous is still closed post-Sandy and Coney Island’s rides don’t open till Palm Sunday but this group of Japanese tourists was undaunted. They lined up in front of the Balloon Dart on the Bowery to photograph Target the world-famous Coney Island Cat. On Tuesday, the cat’s human, Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade, along with neighboring game and food operators, appeared in court to respond to eviction notices from their landlord. The good news is everybody including Target is getting a one-month reprieve. The judge postponed the case till February. Let’s hope the reprieve stretches into the season.

Manny Cohen and Target the Coney Island Cat. Photo © Coney Island Arcade

Landlord Evicting Famous Coney Island Cat and His Humans

Posted in Animals, Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged balloon dart, Bowery, cat, Coney Island, eviction, Target the Cat on January 14, 2013| 8 Comments »

Target the Cat & Jimmy Balloons Calling in Customers. April 5, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

When we started working in Coney Island, Target the Cat was already sitting on the counter of Jimmy’s Balloon Dart on the Bowery calling the people in to play. Some girls can’t walk by without stopping to pet him and ask his name. Next thing you know they’re busting balloons and winning prizes. The gregarious cat is world-famous thanks to having posed for many photographs including one that appeared in the New York Times.

Now the six-year-old cat, who has born and raised in Coney Island’s amusement area, is about to be evicted along with his humans, who own and operate games at 1105 Bowery. Eviction notices were served on four concessionaires who run games and a food stand at 1105 Bowery. All are set to be in court on Tuesday, though it’s doubtful the cat will show up.

Target the Coney Island Cat at work. May 14, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Rumors of the evictions have been the talk of the Coney Island Rumor Mill for weeks. Whatever story you hear or read, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

The building is owned by Shore Leave LLC and Rabbit Beach LLC and Cyclone Holdings LLC and 3019 W 12TH St LLC. Property owner Jeff Persily did not reply to ATZ’s request for comment on the evictions.

Will the judge decide the tenants can stay for another season? The east side of the Bowery just won’t be the same without Target the Cat patrolling the area. This part of the Bowery is his territory. Just to be clear, although Target and his kitty companion Pretty are losing the only home they’ve ever known, they’re not up for adoption. The cats are the beloved pets of Manny Cohen, the owner of Coney Island Arcade, who has been a tenant here for 22 years.

On the Bowery with Target the Coney Island Cat, March 23, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Target and his late sister Targeretty were born at Spook-A-Rama in Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. When a worker heard mewing and went to investigate, he found the motherless kittens. They were kept warm with a portable heater and fed with a dropper. Two weeks later, Manny Cohen adopted them and raised them at the arcade.

In May of 2010, a terrible fire destroyed the arcade on a day that workers sent by the landlord tarred the roof. Target escaped when the firemen battling the blaze cut the gates but his shy sister Targeretty died in the fire. The firemen found her in the office where she felt safe and had probably died from smoke inhalation. For weeks, Target kept searching for her in the ruins of the building and crying.

The arcade was never rebuilt and the site remains an empty lot at the corner of West 12th Street and the Bowery. The building at 1105 Bowery is adjacent to the lot and extends to Jones Walk.

Animal Rescue Group Saves Mermaid the Coney Island Cat

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged animal rescue, cat, cat rescue, Coney Island, For Animals Inc, Hurricane Sandy on November 11, 2012| 7 Comments »

Update November 19th: Over the weekend, For Animals reported that Mermaid the Cat needs an MRI and asked supporters to chip in to help fund the expensive diagnostic procedure: “Sadly the biopsy results from Mermaid’s ear polyp came back as ceruminous adenocarcinoma — a locally invasive, aggressive cancer. There is a chance that the TECA surgery (total ear canal ablation) could prove curative if it hasn’t spread. Please help us continue to raise funds for this sweet cat whose new life is just beginning.”

Among the stories of animals being rescued post-Hurricane Sandy, this one caught our eye. A cat named Mermaid rescued in Coney Island! On Friday, a Queens animal rescue group saved the sick cat left behind in Coney Island when its elderly owner was evacuated to a nursing home after Hurricane Sandy. Rescuers from For Animals, Inc. climbed to the 14th floor of a Coney housing project that has no power or heat to get the cat since its guardian will not be returning home. The group has started a chip-in to raise funds for the cat’s medical bills. Mermaid needs a procedure called Total Ear Canal Ablation on her left ear as well as dental work. The cat is now in foster care, where she is eating and even purring, say her rescuers. For Animals posted news and videos of the lucky Mermaid on their Facebook page.

When her rescuer went in to save her she was found hiding in an empty cabinet, completely terrified. She was covered in a towel to keep her calm, placed in a carrier, and brought to the vet. Weighing just 4.4 lbs, she was treated for:
– pyometra (an infected uterus)
– an ear polyp that was plucked and sent for biopsy
– ear mites
– shave down due to severely matted fur
– nail trim due to overgrown claws

A full blood panel revealed her WBC were through the roof which could be related to the pyometra or ear polyp. However, the rest of her bloodwork was normal and she is FIV/FeLV negative. Mermaid only has 2 teeth left and they need to be removed but there are a ton of roots so it’s going to be a big dental. We are holding off on this procedure until her overall health improves.

You can sponsor a shelter cat by making a donation at For Animals website. The private animal shelter in Ozone Park, Queens also has volunteer opportunities for animal lovers to help socialize and care for rescued cats and kittens. Duties include petting, holding and bonding with cats; socializing kittens; brushing and nail trimming; scooping litter boxes and playing with interactive toys.