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Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island Arcade’

Saying Goodbye to Manny and Target the Coney Island Cat

Posted in Animals, Photo Album, Photography, Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged arcade, cat, Coney Island, Coney Island Arcade, eviction, Manny Cohen, Target the Cat on April 22, 2013| 1 Comment »

Manny Cohen and Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat. April 18, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

We’re sad to report that our friend Manny Cohen, longtime owner of Coney Island Arcade, and his beloved and much photographed cat Target are about to leave Coney Island forever. As ATZ reported previously, they’re moving to Vegas. Last week we took a few farewell photos but put off saying goodbye. After 22 years, Manny was evicted by the landlord (no, not Thor Equities) and has until the end of the month to leave his spot on Coney Island’s Bowery. The car with Target’s roomy traveling cage and a harness for walks in rest areas along the way is packed. Manny’s boxer machines have already been shipped West. “It’s time for me to move on. I don’t have the arcade anymore,” Manny told ATZ in February.

Arcade machines damaged by Sandy on the burned out lot where Coney Island Arcade stood until the May 2010 fire. April 18, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Since May of 2010, when a terrible fire destroyed his amusement arcade on the day that workers sent by the landlord tarred the roof, Manny’s business has focused on selling new arcade machines and parts, which he will continue to do in Vegas. He has also operated a few games on the Bowery. ATZ’s very first post, on April 9, 2009, featured a favorite photo of Target on the counter of the Balloon Dart. Goodbyes are hard. Instead, we’ll look back at some of what we’ve written over the years.

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.

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.
—from “Landlord Evicting Famous Coney Island Cat and His Humans,” ATZ, January 14, 2013

Manny Cohen and Target the Coney Island Arcade Cat. April 18, 2013. 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 Album: Coney Island Arcade Fire’s Awful Aftermath,” ATZ, May 7, 2010

In Coney Island, Target has used at least two of his nine lives. He escaped the arcade fire when the firemen cut the gates. They found his sister Targeretty in the office where she probably died of smoke inhalation. Target and his feline friend Pretty survived the flood waters of Sandy by climbing up to the rafters where they were marooned for days until the electric lock could be picked. We wish Manny Cohen and his lucky cat all the best in their new home. We’ll especially miss taking photos of Target working the Balloon Dart with Jimmy, asking to be petted and rubbing his face against the lens. Will the famous Coney Island Cat miss Coney? In Las Vegas, Target will prowl the casinos on a leash and hunt chipmunk, says Manny.

Last Lens Nuzzle from Target the Cat. April 18, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island Cat & Arcade Business Moving to Las Vegas

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island Arcade, feral cat, Manny Cohen, Pretty the Cat, Target the Cat on February 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Target the Cat & Jimmy Working the Balloon Dart, Coney Island Opening Day, April 5, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

We’re sorry to report that our friends Target the Coney Island Cat and his human, Manny Cohen of Coney Island Arcade, are leaving Coney Island’s Bowery forever. Evicted by the landlord, they’re moving to Las Vegas, where Target will prowl the casinos on a leash and hunt chipmunk, says Manny. We’ll especially miss taking photos of the cat working the Balloon Dart with Jimmy. Cohen, who has been a tenant on the Bowery for 22 years, has until May 1 to vacate the premises, according to a court ruling on Monday. “It’s time for me to move on. I don’t have the arcade anymore,” said Cohen, whose business now primarily consists of selling arcade machines and parts. In May of 2010, a terrible fire destroyed his amusement arcade on a day that workers sent by the landlord tarred the roof.

The future of Target’s feline friend Pretty is uncertain. After Target’s sister perished in the arcade fire, Manny took in the feral calico cat to keep Target company. Pretty’s territory is more wide ranging than Target’s and includes Wonder Wheel Park as well as 12th Street. Though she runs inside the arcade’s warehouse at mealtime and bedtime, neither Manny nor his friends have been able to pet her or get within several inches of her over the past three years. Getting the cat into a carrier and taking her on a road trip would be daunting, so she will remain in Coney Island. The two game concessions that Manny still operates on the Bowery will open on Coney Island’s Opening Day and Easter Sunday. We hope that Jimmy Balloons is able to rent the game for the remainder of this season and that Pretty doesn’t become another homeless Coney cat. She’s had a pretty sweet deal for the past few years.

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 »

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.