Sandy | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘Sandy’

Coney Island’s 12th Street Amusements to Reopen for Easter

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged 12th Street Amusements, Coney Island, Polar Express, Sandy, Saturn 6, Superstorm Sandy on March 27, 2013| 3 Comments »

Post-Sandy Reconstruction Underway at 12th Street Amusements, Coney Island. March 24, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

While Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Luna Park, Scream Zone, the Cyclone and Eldorado Auto Skooters opened on Palm Sunday, post-Sandy recovery was still underway at the Guerrero family’s 12th Street Amusements. A crew working on the Polar Express told ATZ they expect to have the popular Himalaya ride open for Easter Weekend. Their Saturn 6 and Bumper Cars are also expected to reopen by Sunday, but the Ghost Hole dark ride may take a bit longer.

If you’ve never gone for a spin on the Saturn 6, it’s a classic flat ride and a rare find. “Right now, I believe the only one in existence is at Coney Island,” says a ride fan on the CoasterBuzz forum. “Some people think the newer Dartron Hurricane’s are the same thing but the Saturn 6 cars are fastened directly to the arm in a manner so as they do not pivot when they are raised. This is one of those rides you can hear from way down the midway. The loud pop of compressed air being released as the arms raise up & down.”

Here’s a photo of Coney Island’s Saturn 6 in action a few years ago by amusement park photographer Jim McDonnell:

The classic Saturn 6 ride is part of 12th Street Amusements. Photo © Jim McDonnell via smugmug

Photo of the Day: Repairing Sandy-Damaged Steeplechase Pier

Posted in News, Photo of the Day, Photography, tagged Coney Isalnd, pier, rebuilding, Sandy, Steeplechase Park, Steeplechase Pier on March 14, 2013| 6 Comments »

Repairing Coney Island’s Sandy-damaged Steeplechase Pier, March 13, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Yesterday in Coney Island, for the first time we saw repair work being done on the Sandy-damaged Steeplechase Pier. The 1,000-foot-pier is a popular spot for fishing and for watching the Friday night fireworks, which begin on June 21st. In the past, it was also a favorite place for pier divers, who defied the “No Diving” signs for the thrill of the jump.

ATZ asked one of the workers when the pier would be open again. “We hope to have it open by July,” he said. When more info is available from the Parks Department we’ll post an update. Along with the Parachute Jump, which will be the centerpiece of the new Steeplechase Plaza, the rebuilt pier is a survivor of George C Tilyou’s Steeplechase Park.

UPDATE 4:17pm

ATZ received an email from Meghan Lalor of the Parks Department Press Office confirming the above info: “The entire Steeplechase Pier is being reconstructed. We expect to complete construction by July 4.” Yay and Hooray! Excited the pier will be open for fireworks watching for most of the summer. (Work was still underway on the pier as of Labor Day.)

UPDATE October 1, 2013

Over the weekend, word on the Boardwalk that Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier would reopen today, Oct 1, almost but not quite true. After it’s inspected, sometime in October, a Parks Department spokesman tells ATZ. Soon!
Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier to Reopen in October, ATZ, September 30, 2103

Coney Island’s Mermaid Avenue Four Months After Sandy

Posted in Photography, tagged After Sandy, Astella Development, Brooklyn, Chase, Citibank, Coney Island, Coney Island Library, local, Mermaid Avenue, Sandy on March 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Friscia Pharmacy, Mermaid Ave at W 15th St, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

“Mermaid Avenue that’s the street where the sun and storm clouds meet,” wrote Woody Guthrie in his 1950 song “Mermaid’s Avenue.” Four months after Superstorm Sandy devastated Coney Island, ATZ took a drive down the neighborhood’s shopping street to see how many stores had reopened. Our impression, seconded by people who live or work in the neighborhood, was about 70 per cent.

“A lot more places have opened up. It’s a credit to the Mom and Pops,” said Eric Levy, editor of Astella Action News. The local newspaper is published by Mermaid Avenue’s Astella Development. The not-for-profit community organization was one of several that lost everything and is currently sharing a trailer on West 17th Street with the Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Recovers, Project Hope and Brooklyn Community Services. Levy says they expect to move back to their rehabbed storefront at 1618 Mermaid Avenue next month.

The majority of the reopened stores are bodegas, drugstores, and small businesses like the local 7-Eleven lookalike in the photo above. Rebecca, whose family owns the pawn shop at Mermaid and West 21st Street, told ATZ that their store had a grand reopening party on December 15th. They brought in a pizza truck and gave out promotional items as well as raffle tickets for Nets games and cash cards.

It’s taking longer for some of the businesses that are part of the corporate world to rebuild after the storm. Among the stores that haven’t reopened yet are the MacDonald’s at 1403 Mermaid Avenue and 608 Neptune Avenue, which were still boarded up when we drove by. Cleanup efforts finally got underway over the past few days at the Mermaid Avenue restaurant. MacDonald’s Corporate Office did not respond to a request for comment. (A few days after this story was posted renovations started. In April they began hiring and expect to reopen in May.)

Citibank at 3002 Mermaid also remains closed. “Our temporary Citibank branch will open in July as we rebuild our previous location, which was severely damaged after Hurricane Sandy,” Catherine Pulley of Citi Public Affairs told ATZ. “Citibank is deeply committed to our customers and the community of Coney Island. We are working as quickly as possible to return to our previous location and reopen our doors.”

Chase’s branch on Mermaid at 17th Street is also closed due to storm damage, but the bank set up a mobile branch on December 6 and currently does business out of a trailer in their parking lot.

Coney Island Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Mermaid Avenue at 17th St. February 22, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

The post office, which was operating out of trailer until about a week ago, has reopened. But the saddest story on Mermaid Avenue has to be the shuttered Coney Island Library. When we drove by it looked even more abandoned than it did in December. Ruined books litter the boarded-up, fenced off entryway. Urban Librarians Unite’s mini-library box inviting one to “Take a Free Book” stands empty. The Brooklyn Public Library’s Bookmobile service is provided on Thursdays from 11am to 4pm in front of the library, but the children who used the computers must miss them. The branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is not expected to reopen until October at the earliest.

A few weeks after Sandy, the Daily News reported that five Brooklyn libraries wrecked by Sandy will require $10 million in repairs with the Coney Island location being one of the most seriously damaged. 35,177 books and DVDs were lost. You can make a contribution to rebuild the library on the Brooklyn Public Library’s website. Make sure to select “Additional Options – I would like to direct my donation to Coney Island.”

This set of photos was taken on Mermaid Avenue on February 22, 2013, and on December 5 and November 17, 2012. The most recent photos are first…