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Posts Tagged ‘Polar Bear Club’

Rest in Peace: Rabbi Abraham Abraham’s Synagogue Was the Beach

Posted in In Memoriam, News, tagged Bob Stewart, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Ice Breakers, obit, obituary, Polar Bear Club, Rabbi Abraham Abraham, Winter Swimming Club on May 19, 2011| 9 Comments »

Rabbi Abraham Abraham & Bob Stewart of the Coney Island Ice Breakers, 2009 Mermaid Parade. Photo © me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Rabbi Abraham Abraham, the leader of the Ice Breakers Winter Ocean Swimmers of Brighton Beach, died on May 18, according to club spokesman Bob Stewart. “The Rabbi,” as he was called by his fellow swimmers, was a longtime member of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club until the 1990s when he broke away after a dispute and formed a club called the Ice Bears and then the Ice Breakers. The funeral will be held on May 19 at 2 pm at Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, Queens.

The elaborately mustachioed and white-bearded Rabbi was a colorful Coney Island character famous for his daily swims and annual New Year’s Day Swim at Brighton 6th Street. The Ice Breakers boast of having the largest number of active swimmers over 70 years of age (10 swimmers) and four members over 80 years of age. Stewart estimates that the Rabbi was 83 or 84, though he would never admit exactly how much over 80.

Rabbi Abraham Abraham’s zaniest personal accomplishment was probably living in an ice house for 110 hours (Guinness record ID 12729 claimant 12524) on the beach. We’ll never forget his royal antics as King of the Mermaid Parade in 1999. He was so full of fun that he kept jumping out of his rolling chair to dance a jig, which is something we haven’t seen a king do before or since. Photographers loved him, of course. With his white hair and flowing beard, the Rabbi was probably the king who most resembled Neptune. In this 2009 video he extols the health benefits of eating organic kosher food and winter swimming in the frigid waters of the Atlantic.

In the above photo taken by ATZ at the 2009 Mermaid Parade, the Rabbi rode in a pedicab due to a leg injury from what he said at the time was a parachute skydiving accident. “But it was bone cancer,” Stewart reveals. “They removed his thighbone and replaced it with a titanium rod.” The next year, he was once again walking the length of the parade route.

“He’s such a positive guy,” says Stewart. “He called me two weeks ago and said, ‘Bob, I’m dying. I need to see you.’ So I went over to his house. And then he said ‘listen, do you think we can do one more gig before I die?’ Here’s a guy on his deathbed and he wants to do one more something–swim, Mermaid Parade…” They agreed to ride the pedicab again in the Mermaid Parade, which takes place this year on June 18th. “But we knew it was getting close, it was day by day,” Stewart adds. The Ice Breakers are planning to march in the Parade with a photo of their departed leader.

But was he a real Rabbi? “He was able to show me his credentials–his clergy documents,” says Stewart, a Brighton Beach native who took up winter swimming as a teen without being part of an organized group. After getting to know the Rabbi as one of “the beach people,” Stewart joined the Ice Breakers. The Rabbi will be missed. “He was a very happy-go-lucky guy who didn’t preach in any synagogue. His place to preach was the beach.”

Rabbi Abraham Abraham Rings the Dreamland Bell at the Coney Island History Project. September 13, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita

Photo of the Day: Greetings from Ruby’s Snow Mountain Resort!

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged Coney Island snow, East Coast Images, Polar Bear Club, Ruby's Bar, winter swimming on January 7, 2011| 2 Comments »

Dano Sunbathing on Ruby's Snow Mountain. coney Island Boardwalk. January 1, 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim in Coney Island is always a joyous occasion. We felt a bit subdued this year due to the ongoing demolitions and evictions, but seeing so many of our Coney Island friends at Ruby’s Bar on January 1st put the “happy” in “Happy New Year” for ATZ. Here’s our flickr slide show from the day.

In the above photo, our friend Dano, best known as the photographer behind the lens of East Coast Images, is seen sunbathing on Ruby’s snow mountain before taking the Plunge. With today’s predicted accumulation of 2 to 4 inches on top of the snow already on the Boardwalk, you may want to head out to the People’s Playground this weekend to frolic in the snow.

If you missed the New Year’s Plunge, keep in mind that members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club swim in the Atlantic at 1 pm every Sunday from November through April. Visit the Bears’ website for info on joining them for a guest swim or simply spectating. It’s a great way to enjoy Coney Island’s ambiance during the winter season.

After the swim, drop by the Freak Bar at Coney Island USA for Sunday Brunch–“Bagels, coffee and characters”– at 2 pm with the Polar Bear Club. Bratva Bar and Restaurant on Surf at 12th also open for coffee, drinks and food at 2 pm. Live music starts at 3 pm.

Polar Bear Greetings from Ruby's Bar on New Year's Day 2011. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i vi flickr

By the Numbers: Coney Island New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim 2010

Posted in Events, News, tagged By the numbers, Coney Island, Coney ISland Polar Bear Swim, Dennis Thomas, Freezin for a Reason, New Year's Day, Polar Bear Club, winter swimming on January 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The crowd gets bigger every year at the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Club Swim in Coney Island. Exactly how many Bears and Cubs took the plunge on Jan 1, 2010? How many people were spectating? How much did the charity event raise for Camp Sunshine? (Yep, you can still mail in a check.) Dennis Thomas, the President of the the Coney Island Polar Bears, gave us an update and analysis of the increasingly popular event’s stellar stats. Photos courtesy of Bruce Handy/Pablo 57’s “Coney, January 1, 2010 Polar Bear Plunge” set…

Lou Young of CBS News and Coney Island Polar Bear Club President Dennis Thomas. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Lou Young of CBS News interviewing Coney Island Polar Bear Club President Dennis Thomas. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: Do you know how many people “did it” on January 1st vs last year’s swim? And how many regular members of the Polar Bear Club participated vs. how many swim on a typical Sunday

Thomas: I believe there were over 1000 swimmers this New Year’s. I don’t have any numbers for last year, but it was brutally cold last year and the crowd felt noticeably larger than last year. We have about 140 full-time members in the club. At our weekly swims we have been averaging 80-90 swimmers. I think we had more than 100 there on New Year’s.

Formal Pose, Members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club at New Year's Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Formal Pose, Members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: what are the reasons for the event growing every year? Was this year’s larger crowd due to the 41 degree air temp?

Thomas: I’m not sure why the event is growing. Part of it is just word of mouth. People went last year, told their friends who said, yeah I want to do that next year. Part of it is that Coney Island has been in the press so much lately that it is going through its own revival regardless of the development plans. Crowds out there are getting bigger for all events the past 2 years.

Part of it is our club seems to have a larger media presence than in the past and things like our website make us much easier to find than say, 10 years ago. And somehow we are less portrayed as those idiots on the beach that cause network newscasters to chuckle and shake their heads after a 10 second clip before the weather report. The New Year’s Swim is basically free and open to the public, that might be a draw in the current economy as well. I think it’s all these things that explains the larger crowds.

Huge Crowd at New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: How many spectators were there? And how many people involved with staffing the event including crowd control and safety? We noticed Chuck Reichenthal (District Manager of CB 13) in some pix.

Thomas: Again, it’s hard to estimate the size of the crowds on the beach. I believe someone told me the Fire Dept. estimated 10,000 people. I can’t verify that, but I also don’t doubt it. The entire bay was filled with people. I’m not sure on the numbers of the safety teams but there were 2 police boats, 3 Fire Dept boats, numerous Fire Dept EMT teams, ambulance crews, water safety teams through CERT, 3 kayakers, and at least 5 lifeguards and countless volunteers from the Polar Bear Club.

ATZ: What are latest stats on how much money was raised for Camp Sunshine? People can still mail in checks, right?

Thomas: I don’t have final figures, but we raised somewhere around $28,000 this year, up from last year which in this economy is pretty decent. And yes, people can still make contributions.

Big Babies at New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

ATZ: Looking at the flickr pix by various photographers it seemed like more people were wearing costumes than in previous years. Maybe that’s just the sort of thing photographers tend to take more photos of? Or maybe there were just more people, more costumes? Do you have any comments or insight about that?

Thomas: The costume thing. Maybe it’s part of the Mermaid Parade spirit and the fact that it is after all Coney Island. We neither encourage nor discourage costumes. People just do that on their own. And it is a holiday, and a bit of an absurd activity. That must play a role in it.

Photo Op, New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club swims at 1 pm every Sunday from November through April. To join them as a guest, show up at the New York Aquarium Education Hall, on the Boardwalk at West 8th Street by 12:30 pm.