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Coney Island’s “Mr Cyclone” Gerry Menditto Elected to People’s Hall of Fame

Posted in Amusement ride, Events, tagged award, City Lore, Coney Island, Cyclone, Gerry Menditto, People's Hall of Fame, roller coaster on September 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Gerry Menditto, Manager of the Cyclone, visits the History Project on the Coasters Opening Day 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

Gerry Menditto, Manager of the Cyclone, visits the Coney Island History Project on the Coaster's Opening Day 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/Coney Island History Project via flickr

Congrats to Gerry Menditto, manager of the Coney Island Cyclone Roller Coaster! An email from our friends at City Lore informed us that Gerry has been elected to the People’s Hall of Fame.

Gerald Menditto, for enabling New Yorkers to experience the thrills and chills of the world’s greatest roller coaster, the Coney Island Cyclone, by “walking the tracks,” and keeping it safe and running for more than three decades.

Each inductee will receive a larger-than-life-size token of esteem — that is, a large bronze cast of an actual subway token — from City Lore. The ceremony will be interlaced with performances honoring the honorees. Following, we will celebrate our honorees with light refreshments, music and dance. Red Baraat, a “Bangin’ Bhangra and brass funk” band will perform, and a brief Bhangra dance lesson will be offered to guests. Call 212-529-1955, x 0 for tickets ($15 for members, seniors, and students, $20 for others).

City Lore’s 11th People’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony and party is set for Sunday, October 25th from 3- 6 pm at the Museum of the City of New York. In advance of the celebration you can watch this video profile of Gerry Menditto from Thirteen.org’s new online series “New York On the Clock.” The mini-documentary webisodes about “New Yorkers who make the City work” premiered on September 14 with this feature on Coney Island’s “Mr. Cyclone.”

In a similar vein, City Lore’s annual People’s Hall of Fame awards celebration honors the contributions of local people to New York City’s cultural life and was established in 1993. In addition to Gerry Menditto, the 2009 People’s Hall of Fame inductees are James V. Hatch and Camille Billops, Dionisio Lind and Michael Smith, Margarita Kagan, and “DJ Rekha” aka Rekha Malhotra. Honorees are selected by a committee working with City Lore’s Board of Directors. If you would like to nominate your New York City cultural hero to the 2010 People’s Hall of Fame, email a note to City Lore along with the reasons for your nomination.

Previous honorees with Coney Island or amusement industry backgrounds include Pete Benferamo, the Lemon Ice King of Corona Queens; The Ross Family of Coney Island Bialys, the oldest bialy business in the city; Rudy King for bringing the steel drum to New York City; Dick Zigun for founding the Mermaid Parade and Coney Island USA; and Hovey Burgess for mentoring a new generation of circus artists.

Coney Island Fireworks: Friday & Sunday on Labor Day Weekend

Posted in amusement park, Events, tagged Coney Island, Cyclone, fireworks, free event, Friday, Labor Day weekend, September, Sunday on September 3, 2009| 2 Comments »

Coney Island Fireworks sign on the door of Steve's Grill House on the Boardwalk. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

UPDATE…MAY 13, 2012…See “Coney Island Fireworks 2012: Fridays, 4 Saturdays & July 4th.” The first Coney Island fireworks show of the 2012 season is on June 15 and the free weekly event continues through August 31.

On Labor Day Weekend 2009 in Coney Island, there will be not just one but two fabulous nights to enjoy free fireworks. The show begins at 9:30 pm on Friday and Sunday night (Sept 4 and 6). Take your pick or stay the weekend! The Friday September 4 show was scheduled to be the last of the season. This week the folks who run Cyclone roller coaster, one of the sponsors of the fireworks, announced the additional Sunday show.

Please patronize the sponsors of the fireworks:The Cyclone Roller Coaster, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. Additional participants in the fireworks include the Aquarium, the CIDC and Councilman Domenic Recchia’s office.

Although Labor Day marks the official closing of the beach for the season, many of the rides and attractions remain open on weekends through October. The Cyclone Roller Coaster is open weekends through September 20. Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, the Eldorado Bumper Cars and Arcade, McCullough’s Kiddie Park and other attractions remain open through October. Visit Coney Island Fun Guide for more info.

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Coney Island Has 56 Rides and 33 More Days of Summer!

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged Astroland, Coney Island, Cyclone, Kiddie Park, McCullough, rides, Wonder Wheel on August 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Deno's Wonder Wheel in Coney Island. Photo © Barry Yanowitz via flickr

photo via Barry Yanowitz, flickr

This post was written in 2009. Please see most recent ride census from April 2011: “Coney Island Has 64 Rides and 30 Weekends of Summer!”

“Coney Island Rides” and “What rides are in Coney Island?” continue to be the #1 search term used to arrive at Amusing the Zillion. Two months ago, ATZ did “Coney Island Ride Count: Veteran Ride Ops 40, Joe Sitt 10!” We broke the news about California’s Butler Amusements sending rides to Coney, including one from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Jacko’s Dragon Wagon is still in Coney Island, but a few other rides have come or gone. It’s time for an update.

On August 5, 2009, with 33 days left in the season, Coney Island has a grand total of 56 rides, plus a variety of sideshows, games and food stands. If you thought all of Coney Island closed when Astroland closed last year, you’ve been misinformed and missing out. Hope to see you on the Cyclone line before the end of the summer!

“What rides are open at Coney Island?”

The iconic Cyclone Roller Coaster is a New York City landmark operated by the Albert family, the former owners of Astroland Park (Surf Avenue at 10th St). Opened in 1927, the Cyclone remains a favorite of roller coaster fans as well as photographers from all over the world. On flickr, ATZ found more than 3,000 photos of the Cyclone!

photo via Coney Island Cyclone, flickr

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park has 22 rides and is owned and operated by the Vourderis family. In addition to the Wonder Wheel, which is an official New York City landmark, and the legendary Spook-A-Rama dark ride, adult rides include the Thunderbolt, Bumper Cars and Tilt-A-Whirl. The Kiddie rides are the Carousel, Herschell Boats, Dizzy Dragons, Pony Carts, Jumping Motorcycles, Sea Serpent Roller Coaster, Mini Enterprise, Free Fall, Red Baron Airplanes, Willie the Whale, Fire Engines, Jets, Flying Elephants, Pirate’s Pond, Big Foot Trucks and Rio Grande Train.

Thunderbolt at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. Photo © Pablo57 via flickr

photo via pablo57, flickr

McCullough’s is a family owned park with 12 kiddie rides on the Bowery at 12th Street. The rides are the Bumblebeez, Ferris Wheel, Carousel, Swings, Motorcycles, Yellow Submarine, Dizzy Dragons, Himalaya, Ladybug, Frog Hopper, Circus Train and Tug Boat.

McCulloughs Kiddie Park in Coney Island has a dozen rides. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island’s disco palace of bumper cars, the Eldorado Skooters, is a family owned business at Surf Ave between Stillwell and 12th St.

Coney Islands Eldorado Bumper Cars. Photo © Barry Yanowitz via flickr

photo via Barry Yanowitz, flickr

The Guerrero family’s 12th Street Amusements has 5 adult rides including the Polar Express, Bumper Cars, Saturn 6, Ghost Hole and Virtual Reality. There’s a second Virtual Reality simulator on Jones Walk.

Ghost Hole Dark Ride on 12th St in Coney Island. Photo © Barry Yanowitz via flickr

photo via Barry Yanowitz, flickr

Thor Equities “Dreamland Park” (a temporary amusement area on the former Astroland property) currently has 13 rides brought in by Geren Rides and Butler Amusements. Adult rides are the Ring of Fire, Scrambler, Trabant and Star Dancer. Eight kiddie rides include a Carousel, Dragon Wagon from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, Kid Zone, Drive In, Kiddie Ferris Wheel and Banana Boats. There’s also a pony ride. Geren Rides’ Wisdom Himalaya and Spin Out recently left Coney Island for fairs in Tennessee and Georgia. Ride owner Glen Geren told ATZ he expects to have a Tilt-A-Whirl, Bumper Cars and a Reverchon Himalaya up and running within a couple of weeks. Ride #56 on our list is the Himalaya, which is on site in Dreamland, where it’s being sanded and painted in preparation for set up.

UPDATE 8/29 CONEY ISLAND IS OPEN, ONLY DREAMLAND HAS CLOSED Although Thor Equities closed “Dreamland Park,” Coney Island still has 43 rides including the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel open for business. There’s also the Ringling Bros. Boom A Ring Circus, Coney Island USA’s Circus Sideshow and Burlesque, Dreamland Roller Rink, the Coney Island History Project, games, arcades, and much more to enjoy.