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Posts Tagged ‘MTA’

Coney Island, NY: Welcome to Con-y Island! All Aboard!

Posted in Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged con, Coney Island, MTA, sign, Stillwell Station on July 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Welcome to Con-y island! All Aboard! Coney Island, NY. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The “E” in the CONEY ISLAND sign on Stillwell terminal has been burned out for months, ruining an iconic photo op for summer visitors. Unless of course the MTA’s official name of the place is now CON-Y ISLAND in honor of the con job of a rezoning plan that passed yesterday in the City Council?

I first noticed the burned out “E” on June 5 and contacted the MTA. “Please get someone to fix it asap, if they’re not already on it. Makes it hard to take a good photo.” The guy on the MTA’s customer service line dutifully took my complaint but didn’t get my point. “You can still read the sign,” he said.

I’m going to forward this pic to elected officials to see if they can give the notoriously slow state-run MTA a nudge. Probably not. That’s why Bloomberg would like to take over the MTA if re-elected. An interviewer doing a telephone survey of voters for the Bloomberg campaign threw out that piece of info when he called to get my opinion on possible campaign proposals.

Oh, and guys, when you get around to fixing the sign, the “L” in ISLAND needs maintenance too. Somebody knocked it out of kilter.

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Coney Island’s Stillwell Terminal: New, Stay Tuned & Still Under Construction

Posted in Coney Island, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island Beach Shop, gift shop, Lola Staar, MTA, newsstand, shop, Stillwell Terminal, subway station on June 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Newly Opened Gift Shop in Coney Island's Stillwell Terminal. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Just in time for the expected Mermaid Parade, Friday Night Fireworks and Coney Island Boom A Ring crowds, a gift shop and a newsstand have opened in the Stillwell Terminal. The new shops join Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins and Bank of America in the reconstructed subway station, which opened in 2005. The gift shop proprietors also operate a souvenir stand on Stillwell Avenue and have a storeroom full of stock for the upcoming weekend.

Newly opened Newsstand at Stillwell Terminal in Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Yet to open in the station are a Subway sandwich shop, the Lola Staar Boutique, and a branch of the Coney Island Beach Shop, whose main store is behind Nathan’s. The Coney Island Rumor Mill is sayin’ construction delays are due to leakage in the terminal when it rains as well as the fact that some tenants had to revise their architectural plans or change architects to comply with the MTA’s stringent review process.

Still Under Construction at Stillwell Terminal: The Subway in the subway station. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The Brooklyn Paper reported last week that “MTA bureaucrats had trapped the Lola Staar boutique in their own black hole” for six months. An MTA spokesman told the paper that the department overseeing the plans was backlogged. On the day the article was published, the transit authority finally reviewed the architect’s plans and asked for changes. Stay tuned!

Lola Staar owner Dianna Carlin had hoped to open in the Stillwell Terminal this summer after being evicted from her Boardwalk store by Thor Equities. Instead Carlin has set up her boutique in the Dreamland Roller Rink on the Boardwalk at 21st Street. This weekend a selection of “vintage, rare Lola Staar tees from the glittering Boardwalk vaults” will be on sale for only $10. The Lola Staar Shop is open to the public on Fridays from 7-11 pm, Saturdays from 1 pm to 12 am, and Sundays from 1-7 pm.

Visit the Coney Island Fun Guide for links to Coney Island’s shops and restaurants, including some that are open year round.