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Coney Island Fireworks 2012: Fridays, 4 Saturdays & July 4th

Posted in Events, tagged Coney Island, fireworks, Fourth of July, free event, Friday, local, Saturday on May 13, 2012| 8 Comments »

UPDATE May 10, 2014: Readers are already starting to ask about this year’s fireworks, so here you go: The first Friday night fireworks show of Coney Island’s 2014 season will be on June 20, the eve of both the first day of summer and the Mermaid Parade. Schedule for 2014 fireworks is here.

UPDATE June 4, 2013: For 2013 Fireworks Schedule see “Coney Island Fireworks 2013: Fridays, 6 Saturdays and More…” The first Friday night fireworks show of Coney Island’s 2013 season will be on June 21 and this free weekly event continues every Friday through August 30.

It’s that time of year when we start to get queries about whether Coney Island has fireworks on Memorial Day. The answer is Coney Island’s tradition of Friday night fireworks begins in mid-June. But if you come out on Memorial Day Weekend, the beach opens for the season and you’ll also be able to ride a record number of new rides as well as old favorites.

The first Coney Island fireworks show of the 2012 season is on June 15 and this free weekly event continues every Friday through August 31. The pyrotechnic extravaganza starts at 9:30 pm. Best viewing is on the Boardwalk from West 10th to West 12th Streets, on the Wonder Wheel or from Steeplechase Pier. Coney Island will also have fireworks on the Fourth of July this year for the first time in years since the date is a Brooklyn Cyclones home game!

Please patronize the sponsors of the fireworks: Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park; Luna Park, including Scream Zone and the Cyclone; and the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team.

In addition, the Brooklyn Cyclones have scheduled fireworks on the following four Saturdays after their home games as well as on one Monday–Opening Day–and one Wednesday, which falls on July 4th:

Monday June 18th – OPENING DAY – vs. Staten Island Yankess
Wednesday July 4th – vs. Williamsport Crosscutters
Saturday July 7th – vs. Jamestown Jammers
Saturday Aug 4th – vs. Auburn Doubledays
Saturday Aug 11th – vs. Vermont Lake Monsters
Saturday Aug 25 – vs. Staten Island Yankees

The fireworks after the home games are shot off from the stadium located between West 16th and West 19th Streets and are best viewed from the Boardwalk or nearby streets.

When the weather is iffy on a day that fireworks are scheduled, check the Coney Island tweeters on Coney Island Fun’s list for updates.

Photo Album: Art Seen By Zillions in Coney Island

Posted in art, Photography, tagged Boardwalk, Bruce Handy, free event, local, New York City Parks, Public Art, trash can art on May 4, 2012| 1 Comment »

Coney Barrels of Fun Painting. May 7, 2011. Photo © Bruce Handy

Here’s your chance to create art that will be seen by zillions in Coney Island this summer! On Saturday, May 5th, the public is invited to paint the Parks Department’s trash barrels at the 6th annual Boardwalk of Barrels of Fun event. Registration for the free event begins at 10 am on the Boardwalk between West 10th and West 12th Streets in front of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and Luna Park. Paint and brushes are provided.

For inspiration, take a look at Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy’s slide show of last season’s Barrels of Fun. Amid a sea of colorful abstract compositions, you’ll find mermaids and other marine species as well as a gold-toothed Funny Face, Popeye the Sailor Man and the Wonder Wheel.

New Year, New Push to “Keep the Boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk”

Posted in News, tagged Boardwalk, Brighton Beach, concrete, Coney Island, Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance, local, Parks Department, rainforest wood on January 5, 2012| 8 Comments »

The New Year brings a new petition from concretewalk opponent and founder of the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance Rob Burstein. “Keep the Boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk–No Concrete! and Save the Rainforests” is circulating among our Coney friends on Facebook and has already gathered more than 365 signatures out of goal of 5,000. Addressed to 23 elected and appointed officials, the petition’s goal is to put a stop once and for all to the Parks Department’s plan to pave all but four blocks of the 2.7 mile Boardwalk with concrete and plastic wood. Some parts of the Boardwalk, like the spot in the above photo, have already been paved as part of a pilot project. The petition says in part:

If the Parks Department has its way, the Boardwalk will be turned into a concrete sidewalk! Their explanation for this choice is the citywide dictate to limit the use of rainforest wood, but there are in fact many other options available. Send a message to New York’s Parks Department to tell them that the choice is not between saving the rainforest and saving the Boardwalk — the correct choice is to do both! Stop the use of rainforest wood, and replace it with one of the available sustainable domestic hardwoods such as Black Locust or White Oak for the surface decking (the part that we all see and on which we walk). The support structure underneath should be made from recycled plastic lumber, which the U.S. Army has used to build bridges that support tanks and locomotives. This design would be both cost-effective and desirable, and, most importantly, would preserve the basic elements of what makes the wondrous Coney Island Boardwalk a boardwalk.

The last time ATZ wrote about the proposed concretewalk was in October, when the City’s Public Design Commission refused to approve the Parks Department’s plan. The PDC, a distinguished group of architects, artists and representatives of the City’s cultural institutions, told Parks that more environmental and engineering studies were needed to address the questions that they had.

According to a report on the blog A Walk in the Park, no one on the commission supported the use of concrete. “Why do we need the concrete at all,” one commissioner said. It was a victory for concretewalk opponents, winning time to organize more support for keeping the boards in the Coney Island Boardwalk.

UPDATE, March 13, 2012…

For an update read “The 10 People Who Will Decide the Fate of Coney Island Boardwalk” (ATZ, March 9, 2012)

The Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance’s website http://savetheboardwalk.wordpress.com went live on March 5, 2012 while an online petition continues to gather signatures.