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Sundown at Thor’s Unamusing “Festival by the Sea” Flea

Posted in Coney Island, Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, Festival by the Sea, flea market, Joe Sitt, tent, Thor Equities on June 7, 2009| 1 Comment »

Thor Equities Festival by the Sea tent on west side of Stillwell Ave on Saturday afternoon. Photo by me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

On Saturday morning, Thor Equities flea crew brought in a pump to remove the pool of rain water from the site on the east side of Stillwell where the tentless flea is held. The structure on the west side of Stillwell pictured above remained waterlogged. It is not being used since they don’t even have enough vendors to fill the spaces on the east side. The framework is still being reinforced to satisfy the DOB’s requirements and some of the tenting has been replaced. The tents have yet to get a C of O.

After the water was pumped out, vendors drawn to Thor’s flea by the steeply discounted rate of $20-$25 per space (plus the fee for tables and chairs) were able to set up their stands. A banner on the fence insists that the festival is “MUCH MUCH MORE THAN A FLEA MARKET.” Their caps, not mine. A more accurate statement would be IT’S NOT MUCH OF A FLEA MARKET AND IT DOESN’T BELONG IN CONEY ISLAND’S C-7 AMUSEMENT DISTRICT. My caps.

Tube sox at Thor Equities "Uniquely Entertaining and Amusing Flea Market" in Coney Island. Photo by me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

When I stopped by at sundown most of the vendors were packing up for the day. On the land where the Tornado Roller coaster (1927-1977), the Bobsled (1941-1974), and Stauch’s Baths and Dance Hall (1930-1998) once stood, where the Bumper Boats, Go Karts, Climbing Wall, Batting Cages and Mini-Golf thrived until Joe Sitt bulldozed them in 2007, we now have tube sox, new and used clothing, and odds and ends like auto supplies, a water filtration system, a company that installs showers.

Packing up boxes of shoes at Thor's flea market. Photo by me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

In the three visits that I have paid to the flea, I rarely see the same vendors twice. Perhaps that’s why the flea management is offering special deals like “bring a buddy as a vendor” to earn a free day for yourself. And “earn a free Friday when you purchase a Saturday and a Sunday for the same weekend.” One of my Coney friends said, “If the prices get any lower, Thor will be paying vendors to come.”

Wonder Wheel Weeps. Photo by me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

Ringling Circus Tent Rises In Coney, Thor Flea In-Fest Underwater

Posted in Coney Island, tagged circus, Coney Island, Coney Island Boom A Ring, Festival by the Sea, flea market, Joe Sitt, Ringling, tent, Thor Equities on June 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

June 4: In readiness for today

photo via rbbbconeyisland, flickr

This morning in Coney Island, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus raised their tent for the upcoming Coney Island Boom-A-Ring Circus on a newly paved lot. Just a few blocks away Thor Equities still tentless flea market’s dirt lot was flooded. A notice on Thor’s Festival by the Sea website said “Closed Due to Bad Weather.” This is a tale of poor site prep and planning by Thor’s team vs. excellent site prep work and planning by the Ringling folks.

Since May 15 a construction crew has been at work on the Circus’s 21st Street site adjacent to the Childs Building on the Boardwalk. The dirt lot was blacktopped and floodlights were installed in preparation for Coney Island Boom-A-Ring’s June 18 opening night. The transformation of the empty lot is documented on Ringling’s flickr set called Renovating the Coney Island Boom A Ring Site. In April the Bay News reported that Taconic Investment Partners, the owner of the property, donated $100,000 toward site prep work as well as the use of the land rent-free.

As May turned to June, dirt turned to blacktop -- and lighting for the Ringling Circus site in Coney Island was being installed. Photo by rbbbconeyisland via flickr

photo via rbbbconeyisland, flickr

A press release from Feld Entertainment said:

Traveling nearly 3,500 miles from Mobile Stadiums, Ltd. in Sheffield, England, to Coney Island, the state-of-the-art air-conditioned main tent is approximately 28,842 sq. ft. and will seat 2,400 patrons for each performance. The foyer tent, which will house the food court, is approximately 8,625 sq. ft. Both will be the most visible cornerstones of Feld Entertainment’s major site renovation. Throughout the process, Feld has worked closely with lot owner Taconic Investment Partners, whose cooperation has been instrumental in bringing The Greatest Show On Earth to Coney Island.

Meanwhile a few blocks away in Sittland West (Joe Sitt’s property at Stillwell Ave & Bowery), Thor Equities flea market was closed today because the rock-strewn dirt lot is waterlogged due to the recent rain. Now that it’s a pool of water perhaps Joe Sitt should consider bringing back the Bumper Boats, which he evicted along with the other longtime amusements in 2007 to get an early start on “site prep work”. What site prep work? Pablo Jonsey posted pix and wrote on the Coney Island Message Board:

The site is now flooded with no drains for the rain water. The concrete footings have formed a huge bathtub, with no place for the water to go. The first thing Ringlings Circus group did, after paving the site with asphalt was to install drains connected to the NYC sewer system.

Sitt’s engineering company, which happens to be located in the same building I work in midtown, is a joke. They design the tent supports incorrectly and don’t even look for underground drainage.

Last month ATZ reported on the postponed grand opening of Thor’s tentless flea due to “threat of bad weather” and C of O problems. Last Sunday afternoon I strolled through Thor’s Festival by the Flea (not a typo) to find approximately 35 vendors displaying their wares under the tentless structure on the east side of Stillwell. The entertainment at Thor’s self-described “uniquely entertaining and amusing marketplace” consisted of a band and two Disney mascots. Is that all it takes to make the flea market legal in Coney’s C-7 amusement zone?

DVDS for sale at Thor Equities Flea Market in Coney Island. Photo by me-myself-i via flickr

Many vendors were first-timers drawn by the steeply discounted fee of $25 per day. The regular fees listed on the festival’s website range from $100-$525 per day on a weekend. On a table at the entrance I picked up a flier offering a two-fer—-introduce a friend and get two spaces for $25. Tables and chairs cost extra. Wear rubber hip waders.