Hurricane Sandy | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Hurricane Sandy’

Coney Island’s Eldorado Wins Lease But Bumper Cars Soaked by Sandy

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, News, Photography, tagged Coney Island, Eldorado, Eldorado Bumper Cars, Gordon Lee, Hurricane Sandy, storm damage on November 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

Eldorado Ticket Window with High Water Mark from Sandy, Coney Island. November 5, 2012. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

The good news is Eldorado Auto Skooter and Arcade operator Gordon Lee, who bought the equipment from the Fitlin family last year, won a one-year lease from building owner Thor Equities. The bad news is no sooner was the lease signed than Hurricane Sandy barreled through, flooding both the ride and the arcade. The waterlogged arcade machines are believed to be ruined, but will the famed bumper cars ride again? “I can’t make that decision until I have more information,” Gordon told ATZ. He’s hoping that someone with expertise in restoring bumper car rides will come forward to help. “These cars have always been very pampered. They’ve always been indoors. I’m totally lost here. Every car was submerged under water. Salt water is very corrosive to metal.”

After Sandy: Hosing Down the Eldorado Bumper Car Motors, Coney island. November 11, 2012. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

On Sunday, the Eldorado’s crew was still cleaning up. Louis was clad in a hazmat suit while Thomas wore a face mask. Some equipment had already been sent out to be tested by a mechanic. Also damaged in the flood was the ride’s polished floor, the awesome sound system and new merchandise emblazoned with the Eldorado’s “Bump Your Ass Off” slogan. Gordon had put a lot of time and money into upgrading the Eldorado at the beginning of the 2012 season. “I’ve done a lot,” he said. “It’s aggravating to have to start over.” When we saw Gordon at a meeting for business owners at Tom’s Restaurant last week, the first thing we asked was if he was going to rebuild. He said that he had a difficult decision ahead of him and made it clear that reinvesting was a big gamble. “What would you do if you had only a one-year lease?”

Our answer was that if was too costly to invest in new bumper cars for one year, we’d stay and build something simple. How about a roller rink, a movie house, or a Dunk the Clown game? Gordon agreed it was an option. Yesterday we checked in to see what he was thinking. “Right now I’m looking for information to try and rebuild the bumper cars. I’m taking it hour by hour,” said Gordon. He was taking his inspiration from Dennis Vourderis of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, who said that’s how they were handling the cleanup at their park. Not day by day, but hour by hour. Says Gordon: “Every hour I’ve got something to do.”

This music video was shot at the Eldorado Auto Skooters in September 2012 by The DoD3.com, an amusement ride enthusiast from New Jersey. “Man, they just don’t run bumper cars like that anymore!” he wrote in his trip report. “It was three bucks to re-ride but I passed; I had thoroughly bumped my ass off.”

UPDATE March 11, 2013:

Great news from Gordon Lee of the Eldorado. The bumper cars, which were completely refurbished over the past few months, are expected to open by Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday!

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.

Mermaid enjoying lunch her first full day in foster care. Photo via For Animals Inc Facebook

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A Coney Island Girl’s Story: 13 Days With No Power

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Con Edison, Coney Island, Hurricane Sandy, Kim Lofgren, Stillwell Avenue, storm, video on November 10, 2012| 2 Comments »

Rainbow at Wonder Wheel, Coney Island. September 20, 2012. Photo © Kim Lofgren

Coney Island girl Kim Lofgren is a writer and performing magician who lives on the 7th and top floor of a privately owned building on Stillwell Avenue that’s been without power for 13 days. Before Hurricane Sandy, Kim was best known to us for her exquisite photos of Coney Island rainbows taken from her balcony across the street from Stillwell Terminal. On Monday, when we happened to see her having lunch at Tom’s on the Boardwalk, Kim pulled out her phone and showed us the horrifying video posted below of the storm surge on Stillwell. “I really felt that’s what it looks like when Armageddon begins. Lost power after that-water surged 4-8 ft looking inky in darkness,” she wrote yesterday after posting a link on twitter.

As one of @KimberLofgren’s twitter friends, we’ve been following her ordeal via a series of increasingly desperate tweets to Con Edison, some of which are posted below. As it happens, we have other friends in the building, which is of recent construction and very well maintained. Also living on the 7th floor are an elderly couple who evacuated from Sea Gate, where their home was destroyed, to the safety of their daughter’s apartment. The father is in very poor health. We have not been able to reach them by phone but have been getting reports via their relatives and mutual friends. Some of our other friends in Coney Island are in buildings where power was restored temporarily–and in some cases intermittently– by generators.

@AmusingZillion It's wearing. I now have a fever. :( And Lori's elderly parents down the hall–it can't be easy for them. :( :(

— Kimber Lofgren (@KimberLofgren) November 10, 2012

@AmusingZillion This is a private building with a conscientious landlord. #ConEd can't hide behind #NYCHA. This is 100% @ConEdison's mess.

— Kimber Lofgren (@KimberLofgren) November 10, 2012

@ConEdison I have proof that the electrician sent in certification MONDAY. Where is #ConEdison? You have forgotten about #ConeyIsland!

— Kimber Lofgren (@KimberLofgren) November 10, 2012

@ConEdison Yes, but ACCORDING to reps @ #ConEd, each building can be electrified after inspection. Said you'd be here YESTERDAY. No-show.

— Kimber Lofgren (@KimberLofgren) November 10, 2012

@ConEdison Great-except an electrician certified our building safe FOUR DAYS AGO. #ConEd said they would be here today, but so far a no-show

— Kimber Lofgren (@KimberLofgren) November 9, 2012

Looking at Kim’s video of the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, you’ll understand why each building needs to be certified and why everyone we know in Coney Island lost their car.

UPDATE November 11, 2012:

Hallelujah! Coney Island Girl @KimberLofgren with no power in her bldg featured in yesterday's post got heat & lights back a few hours ago

— Amusing the Zillion (@AmusingZillion) November 12, 2012

While Kim’s building got power back on Sunday at around 4pm, many other buildings in Coney Island –both privately owned and city housing projects– remain without power. According to a New York Times article on service updates, Con Edison said it had restored power to all but 2,617 customers (an apartment building is sometimes counted as one customer) in New York City as of Sunday evening. BUT that number does not include 22,000 still without power in low-lying neighborhoods like Coney Island who must first have an electrician certify the building as safe, which was the case with Kim’s building.

Friends in Amalgamated Warbasse – 5 buildings, about 2,700 families – are reporting intermittent power. “Here I go walking down 159 steps again! Building 4 Warbasse is doomed!” said a friend on Facebook. “Our power is still run by a generator and they keep switching them.”

Also as of Sunday, the following NYCHA housing in the west end of Coney Island had no electricity: Coney Island I (Site 8)- 1 building housing 361 people, Surfside Gardens- 5 buildings housing 1,167 residents, O’Dwyer Gardens- 6 buildings housing 974 residents. The following had no heat or hot water: Carey Gardens- 4 buildings housing 1,642 residents; Coney Island- 5 buildings housing 1,203 residents, Coney Island I (Site 8) – 1 building housing 361 residents, Coney Island I (Sites 4 and 5)- 2 buildings housing 1,075 residents, O’Dwyer Gardens- 6 buildings housing 974 residents, and Surfside Gardens- 5 buildings housing 1,167 residents. Excellent reporting on the dire situation in these buildings by the New York Daily News (Video) and The Guardian.