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“Last Summer at Coney Island” Airs on PBS, DVD Offers Epilogue

Posted in film, Redevelopment, video, tagged Coney Island, JL Aronson, Last Summer at Coney Island on May 12, 2011| 1 Comment »

A 60-minute cut of JL Aronson’s documentary “Last Summer at Coney Island” will air on public television starting May 15 at 10 pm and May 16 at 2:30 am on WNET Channel 13. We recommend watching it and then buying the DVD with the full 90-minute version and a host of extras, including “Since Last Summer,” in which the film-maker narrates a candid update. “The City bought the land from Thor that they could have purchased at the start for less money, but then they would have been the ones to evict old timers who had been in Coney Island for decades,” he says.

When “Last Summer at Coney Island” premiered in August at BAM, the audience got teary eyed during the scene in which Astroland’s lights were extinguished, ride by ride, for the final time, and the illuminated Astrotower made its last descent. Many of us had attended the amusement park’s closing ceremony on September 7, 2008 after rallying unsuccessfully for one more year.

The next summer felt like another last summer for Coney Island. Real estate speculator Joe Sitt held Coney Island hostage as the City’s rezoning plan, which would approve high rise hotels on Sitt’s land on the south side of Surf Avenue, moved inexorably toward approval.

“Last Summer at Coney Island” chronicles Coney Island’s redevelopment hoopla with riveting scenes featuring Thor Equities CEO Joe Sitt and Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert, as well as historian Charles Denson, Lola Star Boutique owner Dianna Carlin, City Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr, and then-CIDC president Lynn Kelly, among others. Aronson’s film ends with the City Council passing the rezoning in July 2009.

“The rezoning plan quickly became a sideshow itself, if not the main attraction,” says Aronson in the epilogue. “After shooting for a couple of years, I had to conclude the story at some point, and at a point that made sense, without waiting to see what might inevitably get built. If past lessons of Coney Island development tell us anything, it is that this process can take a very, very long time.”

Other extras on the DVD include an “Easter egg” with Coney’s “Unelected Mayor” Dick D Zigun. We found the hidden feature –it’s Zigun’s fiery speech at a hearing on the rezoning at which he resigned as a Director of the Coney Island Development Corporation in protest of “a deeply flawed plan.”

“Astroland” has interviews with longtime employees of the park, who consider themselves brothers and sisters, while “The Cyclone” focuses on Gerry Menditto, the now-retired manager of the landmark roller coaster. “The Friendly Butcher of Mermaid Avenue” is Jimmy Prince, who retired in 2009 after 60 years at a meat market beloved by the neighborhood. “The Ward family” features Jack Ward, who passed away last year, and whose family was the oldest property owner in Coney Island before selling their parcel to the City.

In fact so much has changed since “Last Summer at Coney Island,” about the only places in the film that look the same are the Thor-owned Grashorn building with its perpetual “for lease” sign and the landmark Cyclone, Wonder Wheel and Parachute Jump. Since Luna Park opened last summer followed by Scream Zone this spring, it feels like the beginning of a new Coney Island, though the future depicted in the City’s renderings, with hotel towers on Surf Avenue and glittering high rise condos to the west and north of MCU Park, is still a long ways off.

The hour-long cut of “Last Summer at Coney island” is scheduled to air on the following PBS stations:
WNET/Thirteen – New York – Sunday, May 15 – 10pm
WNET/Thirteen – New York – Monday, May 16 – 2:30am
NJN – New Jersey Public Television – Tuesday, June 21 – 10pm
WLIW/21 – New York – Tuesday, June 28 – 10pm
KQED – San Francisco – Saturday, July 23 – 6pm
KQED – San Francisco – Tuesday, July 26 – 11pm
More stations to be announced.

Step Right Up! Coney Island Documentary Film Seeks 20 More Backers

Posted in film, tagged backer, Coney Island, documentary, JL Aronson, Last Summer at Coney Island on February 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Working in Coney Island over the past few summers, we got used to a zillion people asking us if Coney Island was closing. It wasn’t and it’s not. In fact, Coney Island never closes (think Beach, Boardwalk, Aquarium) and is getting a brand-new Luna Park this summer.

But filmmaker JL Aronson’s documentary “Last Summer at Coney Island” is aptly titled. For the past three summers, it has felt like the last summer of our Coney Island because of Thor Equities’ eviction of Astroland and other businesses and the City’s rezoning of the C-7 amusement district. JL, known as Sonny to his friends, has distilled the essence of those turbulent times in his elegaic film. From 150 hours of footage, he has edited a 100-minute rough cut. Here’s a scene from the 2008 Mermaid Parade, featuring a replica of the Astroland Rocket and many of our mermaid and merman friends…

Says the filmmaker….

Beginning in early Spring of 2007, I set out to capture Coney Island at a pivotal moment in its 125+ year history as an amusement destination. With City Hall and private developers laying out their competing plans for Coney Island’s 21st century makeover, many of the local residents and business people felt trapped in the middle or left out in the surf. Much has happened since then, and while the area’s uncertain future brought media attention from across the world, few stuck around long enough to get the full story.

It’s true, summer weekends brought out multiple film crews seeking people to interview. Sonny was always here filming both public events and private moments. “Last Summer at Coney Island” promises to be an exceptional film. It is nearing completion and being pitched on Kickstarter, a website that “helps fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.” The only catch is a project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands. Total amount needed: $16,000. The film currently has 27 backers and needs 20 more with two weeks to go!

Watch the trailer featuring Community Board 13 Manager Chuck Reichenthal, historian Charles Denson, Mermaid Parade creator Dick Zigun and other Coney Island luminaries here. There’s also an engaging interview with Gerry Menditto, longtime manager of the Cyclone roller coaster here.

UPDATE June 1, 2011:

A 60-minute cut of JL Aronson’s documentary “Last Summer at Coney Island” is being shown on public television. We recommend watching it and then buying the DVD with the full 90-minute version and a host of extras, including “Since Last Summer,” in which the film-maker narrates a candid update. Read our review here:“Last Summer at Coney Island” Airs on PBS, DVD Offers Epilogue” (ATZ, May 12, 2011)

UPDATE August 10, 2010:

The film was funded and premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music premiere. Read the review by Rich Calder in the New York Post. Check out on the new trailer at http://www.lastsummeratconeyisland.com.