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Thor’s Coney Island: Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt Is Baaack Playing Games!

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, Henderson Building, Joe Sitt, Thinkwell, Thor Equities on April 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

Joey Sitt Plays with Bulldozers in His Coney Island Sandbox. Art by Tiny Tim

Joey Sitt Enjoys Playing with Bulldozers in His Coney Island Sandbox. Art by Tiny Tim

Regular readers may remember the above cartoon from last summer’s post “Joe Sitt Plays in His Coney Island Sandbox” (ATZ, July 21, 2009). Summer 2010 is just thirty days away and guess what? Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt is getting ready to play the demolition game in his Coney Island sandbox.

We’re sorry that rumors of Joe Sitt’s plans to demolish historic buildings which we reported in last week’s post “Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings” (ATZ, April 21, 2010) have turned out to be true. This is one time we would have preferred for the rumors to have remained just rumors.

In response to a flurry of queries from reporters about Sitt’s still unleased empty lots and vacant properties, Thor Equities pr flack Knickerbocker SKD issued a press release announcing Sitt’s intention to begin demolishing the buildings and to replace them with other structures by May 2011. According to the release, “These structures will be replaced with more attractive, retail-friendly and up-to-code shops for the type of retailers Coney is famous for.” The Thor-owned buildings under threat of demolition are the Henderson, Grashorn, Bank of Coney Island and Shore Hotel.

Eliot Brown’s piece in the Observer–“The New Coney Island? Sitt Sees Fast Food in Place of Current Buildings”–includes a rendering by Thinkwell that is possibly the worst rendering ever produced for Coney Island. Thinkwell must have been thinking only of the fat fees they get from Thor and not their reputation in the theme park industry when they put their name on it. Anyway it’s pure Bull Sitt because we seriously doubt this interim replacement for the Henderson building — a boxy mall occupied by fast food joints– will ever get built. We suspect it’s just a ploy to make it easier to get a demolition permit from the City.

Thor No More! Joey Bulldozer Poster for Save Coney Island Coalition Rally. January 1, 2008.

We’re also hit by a sense of deja vu. It’s like 2007 on Stillwell Avenue when Thor Equities evicted amusement operators and bulldozed the property to make way for “redevelopment” years ahead of the City’s rezoning. The lots stand empty today. Unfortunately Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt will tear down the historic buildings and build nothing. If the Henderson Building and the Bank of Coney Island are knocked down, the parcels which were rezoned for high rise hotels of up to 27 stories are likely to “sitt” empty until Sitt flips the property.

The situation is so much like 2007, we’ll simply direct you to a three-year-old post by the late great Bob Guskind that could just as well have been written today. (“Coney Island Looking Like Sitt for Memorial Day,” Gowanus Lounge. May 25, 2007)

The Sitt-created blight–which could be corrected by installing temporary amusements–is one thing. But, it is truly a curious thing that as the summer season begins a developer pitching a $2 billion project hasn’t even bothered to prettify the problem or to address the potential public safety hazard that he has created. If we were prone to making extreme statements, we’d call what Mr. Sitt has already done to Coney Island an act of civic contempt that could result in unsavory things as the summer crowds come to the Thor Equities Corridors of Blight. In fact, if we were the types to ascribe underhanded motives to developers, we would suggest that Mr. Sitt has been callous and calculated in creating emptiness and deadness in the heart of Coney Island long before any redevelopment will happen. We might say, in fact, that he is committing a kind of premeditated neighborhood homicide.

Will Save Coney Island hold a funeral for their proposed historic district now or wait till the wrecking ball arrives?

Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, Real Estate, tagged Coney Island, flea market, Joe Sitt, Stillwell Avenue, Thor Equities on April 21, 2010| 7 Comments »

Thor Equities abandoned flea market, Coney Island. April 16, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Thor Equities abandoned flea market tents on Stillwell Ave, Coney Island. April 16, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

If you’ve been wondering what Joe Sitt of Thor Equities is doing with his vacant buildings and empty lots in Coney Island 2010, the answer is nothing yet. It’s disgraceful that Coney Island’s no. 1 real estate speculator is getting away with letting his tents from last year’s flopped Flea by the Sea deteriorate and become a public eyesore. The bedraggled tents are the first sight visitors see when they stroll down Stillwell Avenue, the gateway to Coney Island’s Beach and Boardwalk. How would “Joey Coney Island” like it if this mess was in his backyard instead of the People’s Playground? Tear ‘em down!

Thor Equities abandoned flea market tent, Coney Island. April 19, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Coney Island’s 40 rides and diverse attractions opened for the season on Palm Sunday and enjoyed the best Easter in decades. On the City-owned former Astroland site, Zamperla/CAI is working nearly around the clock to finish the new Luna Park in time for Memorial Day Weekend. If Sitt had sold the land to the City when the rezoning was passed in July, the park would probably be open now! With the return of Ringling Brothers Circus and the grand opening of Luna Park, Coney Island’s stakeholders are busy planning an exciting summer season. But Joe Sitt has yet to announce any tenants or plans for his Coney Island buildings or remaining Stillwell parcels.

Shoot out the Star in Thor-Owned Henderson Building, Bowery at Stillwell. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Shoot out the Star in Thor-Owned Henderson Building, Bowery at Stillwell. April 19, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Thor Equities huge “Store for Lease” banners on the Henderson Building and Shore Hotel continue to greet visitors when they exit Stillwell station. As for Thor’s vacant buildings, the Grashorn—Coney Island’s oldest building—and the former Bank of Coney Island—it’s deathwatch time. The Coney Island Rumor Mill is saying a demolition company was asked to give a quote for the takedown of the Grashorn and the Bank of Coney Island immediately as well as the Henderson Building and Shore Hotel by October. Popeye’s $120K per year lease of the corner store on the ground floor is said to be up this year.

Thor-Owned Henderson Building sits on a Parcel Rezoned for a High-Rise Hotel. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Last July, the Bank of Coney and the Henderson parcels were rezoned for high-rise hotels of up to 27 stories. Though it’s unlikely a hotel will go up anytime soon, the speculation is that Sitt wants to get rid of the Grashorn and Henderson, which were nominated by Coney Island USA for landmark status, before the LPC calendars them or Save Coney Island’s plan for a historic district gathers steam.

Vacant on Surf Ave at Jones Walk: Thor-Owned Grashorn and Lambros Buildings. April 1, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Since Zamperla/CAI won the 10 year contract to build a new amusement park on the City owned land purchased from Sitt, a who’s who of amusement operators has enquired about leasing Sitt’s remaining parcels. But showmen are not marks. Sitt’s steep asking price—reportedly $300K-$500K– for each of his two 50,000 square foot Stillwell lots–has driven away top carnivals and amusement park operators who negotiated for yet failed to sign multi-year leases. Sources tell ATZ that onerous lease terms such as a 30-day vacate clause and having to pay all of the rent up front helped kill the deals.

Boarded Up Shore Hotel: Nature's Paradise By the Sea. April 26, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Sideshow operator John Strong, who negotiated with Thor to bring his freak museum to the Grashorn Building, now says all deals are off since he can’t spend more in rent than he can take in at the ticket box. Strong believes he got outbid by a Russian who owns an arcade. But the supposed tenant, Sam’s Arcade from last year’s Dreamland, hasn’t signed the lease for Coney Island’s oldest building. What is Sitt’s game?

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article called “Empty Storefronts Blot Union Square Area”–San Francisco, not New York–with a quote from Joe Sitt, who is one of the property owners: “Mr. Sitt says he isn’t rushing to lock up a long-term lease before the market recovers. ‘I’m very willing to be patient,’ he says. While an empty storefront might not help in the short run, securing better tenants is a long-term boon for the neighborhood.” Ironically, another quote in the piece is “It’s like a major theme park losing its rides,” says Joe D’Alessandro, chief executive of the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, of Union Square’s store closings.

Funny thing is the quote could apply equally to the situation in Coney Island, though Sitt hasn’t had much to say about Coney since he sold 7 acres to the City in November 2009. At the time, Sitt told the Real Deal in a Q & A…

“We have to redo all of our plans, but we will still have millions and millions of square feet of apartments and hotels and retail and restaurants and enclosed amusements. Yes, it will still have the Las Vegas component to it. The latter versions of the renderings are close to what it will be.”

Oh, yeah, he forgot to mention the millions and millions of dollars he’ll make when he flippity-flips it.

Before Thor: Remember Batting Range and Go Kart City? April 16, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

In the meantime, a parade of people eager to do business in Coney Island continues to look at Thor’s Stillwell parcels. Last week, yet another amusement operator interested in a three-year lease for a go-kart track arrived on the scene. Rumor has it they’re set to sign a lease tomorrow. We’ll see. Our skeptical friends say that Sitt’s lots will remain empty this summer. We say it’s 37 days till Memorial Day Weekend and Sitt never had carnival rides up and running in “Dreamland” until then. In fact, bizarre rumors of Thor Equities producing entertainment in a Spiegeltent on one parcel and bringing their very own carnival to the other are circulating, too. What else can we say but this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill rumor mill, it’s in Coney Island, which thrives on the strange, the odd and the unpredictable.

Thor’s Coney Island: John Strong to Get 3-Year Lease for Freak Museum & Maybe More

Posted in sideshow, tagged Freak Museum, Grashorn Building, Joe Sitt, John Strong, Thor Equities on March 18, 2010| 2 Comments »

Museum of Cryptozoology Banner on the front of John Strong's Freak Museum, Coney Island, July 12, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The five-legged Yorkie puppy and dozens of other live and preserved freaks in John Strong’s Oddity Museum will soon take up residence at 1104 Surf Avenue, Coney Island’s oldest building. The Texas based sideshow operator plans to arrive in Coney Island by Easter weekend. “The lease is for three years,” Strong tells ATZ. “I can’t discuss the price. Thor specified that one thing. The price is simply just agreeable for all parties involved.”

As first reported by ATZ in January, Strong flew to New York and made a pitch to lease the Grashorn Building at Surf Ave and Jones Walk. Strong says the on-again, off-again deal has finally been approved by Thor CEO Joe Sitt.

A multi-year lease for seasonal tenants in Thor Equities’ Coney Island properties would be a first. One year leases and doubling of the rent have been the norm. It’s a clear sign that real estate speculator Joe Sitt is indeed going to “sitt” on his Coney property until the City’s infrastructure work is done and Coney Island is on the road to revitalization before he sells.

The Freak Museum’s tenancy is great news for the long vacant Grashorn. Last month, Coney Island’s oldest building was flooded by a spiteful squatter and had to be put on 24-hour security watch. The building fronts Surf Avenue and extends along the west side of Jones Walk. Yet this prime location remained vacant and devoid of activity in 2009 due to Thor CEO Joe Sitt’s soaring rents. Last summer, a business owner who had leased a small stand on the Walk from Thor in 2008 told us the 2009 rent had tripled from $8,000 to $24,000. He declined the space and left Coney Island.

ATZ will be happy to see the building fixed up and open for business again. We’ve worked a game on the east side of Jones Walk and can’t tell you how depressing it is to face the shuttered gates of Thor day after day! Vacant and shuttered buildings are bad for business on Surf Ave and the Walk. It makes the Walk look uninviting. This part of Thorland hasn’t gotten as much attention as Stillwell, but it’s another example of deliberate blight.

John Strong's Freak Museum 2010 Location: Thor Equities Shuttered Grashorn Bldg, Surf Ave & Jones Walk, Coney Island, August 15, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

John Strong’s Freak Museum will certainly improve the view from our stand…

“You’re going to see 13 feet of brand new banners and 250 attractions in circus wagons,” says Strong “The 130′ will wrap around to Surf Ave. This is going to be the biggest, the finest, the greatest attraction in Coney Island during the 2010 Season. We’ve got four other shows going up on other Thor parcels. We haven’t secured Stillwell yet.”

Last week, the Coney Island Rumor Mill was saying that Sitt was asking $500,000 for both sides of Stillwell and he wanted all of the money up front! Amusement park operators from the Jersey Shore were set to bring in go karts but the deal fell apart due to onerous lease clauses and the $250K rent for the east side of Thor’s Stillwell parcel. Various carnival operators have come and gone from talks with Thor Equities. If Strong manages to secure Stillwell, it won’t be all circus sideshows. He plans to bring in go karts and carnival rides. Essentially he’d be putting together a midway made up of rides and attractions from various amusement operators.

“I’ve got to pull rabbits out of a hat to get spectacular rides and other attractions to fill Stillwell at this late date,” Strong tells ATZ. “I’m good at doing that. I know everyone in the amusement business. Because there are so many shows and so many parcels, I’m not sure which parcel will have which show. Also, with Stillwell not being nailed down or not nailed down as yet, I may or may not have additional parcels to play with.”

Rumor has it that Strong will put his Strange Girls Show, a live show which was on the former Astroland site last summer, on the lot across from Coney Island USA. The last time anything like this happened was in 1996 when Strong’s stepfather Bobby Reynolds had his oddity museum in the former Bank of Coney Island building. Will 2010 be the summer of duelling sideshows on West 12th Street?

Security guarding the Thor-owned Grashorn Building, Coney Island's oldest, on the west corner of Jones Walk. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Security guarding the Thor-owned Grashorn Building, Coney Island's oldest, on the west corner of Jones Walk. February 16, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

UPDATE April 29, 2010:

John Strong’s deal to rent the Grashorn is off! We’re sorry that rumors of Joe Sitt’s plans to demolish historic buildings which we reported in last week’s post “Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings” (ATZ, April 21, 2010) have turned out to be true. This is one time we would have preferred for the rumors to have remained just rumors.

Today, in response to a flurry of queries from reporters about Sitt’s still unleased empty lots and vacant properties, Thor Equities pr flack Knickerbocker SKD issued a press release announcing Sitt’s intention to begin demolishing the buildings and to replace them with other structures by May 2011. According to the release, “These structures will be replaced with more attractive, retail-friendly and up-to-code shops for the type of retailers Coney is famous for.” See “Thor’s Coney Island: Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt Is Baaack Playing Games!” (ATZ. April 29, 2010)

Translation: More Bull-Sitt from Thor Equities. More deliberately created empty lots.