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Posts Tagged ‘Coney Island Boardwalk’

FEMA To Fund $1.2M Repair of Coney Island Boardwalk Lighting

Posted in News, tagged Boardwalk, Coney Island Boardwalk, FEMA, Hurricane Sandy, lighting, local, Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Superstorm Sandy on May 30, 2013| 1 Comment »

Temporary lights are currently in use on the Boardwalk in Coney Island’s amusement district. April 22, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Let there be light at night on the Boardwalk! On Wednesday, Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced over $1 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for Superstorm Sandy-related repairs to lighting along the Coney Island Boardwalk. The Boardwalk’s distinctive twin cast iron light poles, which were installed with $1.2 million allocated in 2004, have not been operational since Sandy. Portable trailer-mounted lighting units were brought in earlier this year.

According to a news release, FEMA will provide $1,220,599 in federal funding to the NYC Department of Transportation for the repairs of the street lighting system serving the Coney Island Boardwalk’s 122 ornamental light poles.

Senator Charles Schumer at Coney Island Opening Day Ceremonies, March 24, 2013. Photo via Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park flickr

“Coney Island’s much-loved boardwalk was seriously damaged by Superstorm Sandy, including its lighting system,” said Schumer. “This federal funding will get the lights back on, just in time for summer, and make sure that New York City residents are not on the hook entirely for these expenses.”

“The iconic Coney Island boardwalk was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy, with its street lighting completely destroyed,” Gillibrand said. “This necessary reimbursement is an important step as we continue to meet New York’s needs to recover and rebuild.”

Coney Island’s rides and the majority of the businesses in the amusement area opened for the season on Palm Sunday. Nathan’s on Surf Avenue, Coney Island USA and the New York Aquarium reopened on Memorial Day Weekend. New construction and post-Sandy renovations are still underway. In April’s photo album, ATZ focused on Steeplechase Pier, Steeplechase Plaza and the Boardwalk, and the Applebee’s on the north side of Surf Avenue. In May’s construction update, we looked at the south side of Surf Avenue and Jones Walk.

Nov 1: Auction Sale at Cha Cha’s, 4 Others on Coney Island Boardwalk

Posted in Auction, Food & Drink, Redevelopment, tagged Cha-Cha's, Coney Island Boardwalk on October 30, 2011| 3 Comments »

Cha Cha's Bar on the Boardwalk in Coney Island. June 1, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

Sunday afternoon’s party at Cha Cha’s with Killer Joe will be the last hurrah for the Home of Wild Women and Wise Guys on the Coney Island Boardwalk. On Tuesday, November 1st, the contents of Cha Cha’s — restaurant equipment, fixtures and memorabilia, including a quantity of neon signs– will be auctioned off. The public sale will be at the bar, located at 1229 Boardwalk near Stillwell. If you’d love to have a piece of signage or other keepsake from Cha Cha’s, be there by 2:00 pm, when the auction begins.

According to an ad for the auction in today’s New York Times, the sale includes “5 Coney Island Restaurants, Bars/Snack Bars” and contains “a tremendous quantity of memorabilia!!!!” Auctioneer Vinny Casale told ATZ that the auction’s five locations include Cha Cha’s on the Boardwalk and neighboring bars and restaurants as well as the Coney Island Souvenir Shop. “There is an upright player piano marked William Knabe & Co. from the 1920s that comes with piano rolls,” he said of the items for sale at Cha Cha’s. “There are a lot of neon signs.” Some of the other restaurants are selling off old equipment and furniture which will no longer be needed, regardless of whether they are closing or have hopes of returning to the new, rehabbed Boardwalk or another location next year.

Steve's Grill House, Coney Island Boardwalk. October 31, 2010. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Sources tell ATZ that Cha Cha’s, Beer Island, Gyro Corner and Coney Island Souvenir Shop were not offered new leases for the Boardwalk by Zamperla USA. Gyro has already moved signage and equipment to their Bowery location. The last we heard from “the Coney Island Rumor Mill,” Ruby’s Bar and Paul’s Daughter were in negotiations for multi-year leases and it was not a done deal. Although November 4th is the final date by which the Boardwalk businesses are required to vacate the premises, the deadline was said to have been extended through November 14 for the businesses offered leases and with whom negotiations were in progress. Steve’s Grill House, located at the corner of Stillwell Avenue, was reportedly offered the space adjacent to his restaurant, where the Tacos and Tortas stand is located. The Tacos restaurant is relocating to Neptune Avenue between Stillwell and 15th Street. They leased the store formerly occupied by Classic Heros, which closed last year.

Cha Cha’s Closing Party featuring Killer Joe and Vinny “Big Pussy” Pastore of The Sopranos starts at 3pm on Sunday, October 30. Ruby’s “Final Closing Party” begins at 12 noon. The date was changed to Sunday because of yesterday’s weather. Paul’s Daughter is expected to be open as well.

The advertisement for the November 1st auction lists the following items:

icecream, memorabilia, Coldlite C/T Ice cream machines, 3- Flavor margarita machines, Batch Freezers, Lab 100B & 500, 5- Ice machines, ! & 4 direct beer taps, Curved glass gelato cases, ! & 2 Glass dr refrigerators, 1 & 2 S/S Dr Refrigerators, Flat top grills, Hot Dog Cart, Coffee machines,& Grinders, Funnel cake cart, Chest & Upright Freezers, C/T Pizza Ovens, 4- Ice-Cream Dip Boxes, Deep Fryer & Hood Combo, 8-camera system, ADS Pass thru D/W, lg Screen TVS, Ship Chandeliers, Brass Glass Racks, Glass Sneezeguards, 10-Cash registers.

Complete Build A Bear Machine originally costing $5k with bears & stuffing, 75 neon signs, pretzel & popcorn machines, smoke machines, sheet pan racks, bar stools, 60 chairs, 15 tables, 4 glass lighted showcases, 500 Coney Island sweatshirts & t-shirts, Novelty items, So many more items too many too list. call auctioneer for more info

The sale is being held by Best Buy Auctioneers in conjunction with Vincent Casale Auctioneers.

Last year on November 1st, nine Boardwalk businesses received “surrender the premises” letters from Zamperla USA, the operator of Luna Park (“Out With the Old in Coney Island: Only 2 of 11 Boardwalk Businesses Invited Back,” ATZ, Nov 1, 2010). Eight of the businesses banded together to fight the eviction from the City-owned property on the Boardwalk leased to Zamperla. Seven won a one-year lease, which expires on November 1, 2011.

Coney Island Souvenir Shop on the Boardwalk. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Oct 24, 10:30 am: Last Chance to Stop Coney Island Concretewalk?

Posted in Redevelopment, tagged Boardwalk, Brighton Beach, Coney Island Boardwalk, Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, Friends of the Boardwalk, Public Design Commission on October 23, 2011| 2 Comments »

Coney Island’s world-famous, 2.7-mile Boardwalk is listed among America’s Best Beach Boardwalks by the travel editors at National Geographic, Travel + Leisure and USA Today. Will it qualify for this honor if only four blocks in the amusement area remain wood and the rest is paved with concrete and plastic wood? A Parks Department spokeswoman told Brooklyn’s Courier News that concrete was chosen because it’s about $40 per foot cheaper than real wood.

The Bloomberg administration’s plan to pave the Coney Island Boardwalk will be voted on by the City’s Public Design Commission. A friend forwarded the info that the PDC hearing is at 10:30 am on Monday, October 24th. It is recommended that you get there at 10 am to sign in. “Please bring others if you can as this is our best chance to defeat this,” writes Rob Burstein of the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance. The local Community Board voted 21 to 7 against the plan in May, but their vote was ignored because New York City’s CBs are advisory boards.

News stories about the Boardwalk redo gave the impression that the Public Design Commission vote was a foregone conclusion, possibly because the members are all Mayoral appointees. However, after reading the letter from Burstein and Friends of the Boardwalk’s Todd Dobrin, we took a closer look at the Design Commission. “The Gatekeepers,” a report in the Architect’s Newspaper, described the PDC as “little known to the public and a mystery even to many architects.” Commission members are a distinguished group including architects, artists and representatives of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library. They serve pro bono. Hey, we think it’s worth a shot. It could be your last chance to save Coney Island’s Boardwalk from becoming a Concretewalk.

PLEASE SAVE THIS DATE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 24TH
WHERE: NYC PUBLIC DESIGN COMMISSION,
253 Broadway (opposite City Hall), 5th floor, New York, NY
TIME: TO BE ANNOUNCED AND FORWARDED

Dear friends and neighbors:

I’m writing to ask you to join us on Monday, October 24th, at the NYC Design Commission. There will be a hearing about the proposed plan to replace the iconic Brighton Beach and Coney Island boardwalk with concrete slabs. A small group of us showed up a few weeks ago to express our displeasure with this Parks Department’s proposal so the hearing was changed to the date above. This was so that the Commission could hear our objections regarding this plan for the boardwalk.

THIS IS OUR BEST CHANCE FOR DEFEATING THIS PLAN!We need a substantial number of people at this hearing to express their displeasure with the proposal. The people on this Commission have no idea what impact their decisions have on this community. As neighbors who enjoy the boardwalk and don’t want it turned into a sidewalk or driveway, I’m hoping to prevail upon you to join us and express your outrage at this horrendous plan. We all have too many responsibilities and too little time, but many of us are taking off from our jobs yet again in order to attend this most important meeting. Won’t you join with us? Your presence is important! This Commission is not an advisory body. They make the final decision as to whether or not this project goes forward. Please don’t let cynicism about the good it does to show up at a hearing such as this stop you from coming. It CAN make a difference! Look at what happened when enough of us showed up to object to construction of the proposed amphitheater in Asser Levy/Seaside Park. This Commission stopped the plan because enough community members showed up to object. Please support us and our community once again. Please attend and tell your friends and neighbors to join us!

The time on the 24th will be announced in the next day or two and I will forward it on once it’s been set. Thanks for your consideration and support!

Rob Burstein, Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance
Todd Dobrin, Friends of the Boardwalk

UPDATE March 7, 2012:

The next public hearing at the Design Commission is set for Monday, March 12. For more info, see the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance’s new website.

UPDATE October 25, 2011:

Victory! ATZ is happy to report that the Design Commmission has stopped the Parks Department from going ahead with the concretewalk. NY1 covered the hearing — watch the video here. As Todd Dobrin of Friends of the Boardwalk says in the vid: “I think that it’s great that the Design Commission has come to the conclusion that more environmental and engineering studies are required before this project goes forward.”