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Scoop: Deal to Rent Thor’s Coney Island Lots a No-Go for Fair Producer

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, Real Estate, tagged Coney Island, Joe Sitt, John Strong, Mark Lovell, Stillwell Avenue, Thor Equities, Universal Fairs on May 13, 2010| 4 Comments »

Will Thor’s lots be devoid of amusements again in 2010? Thor Equities lot at Bowery & Stillwell in Coney Island. August 22, 2008. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Will Thor’s lots be devoid of amusements again in 2010? Thor Equities lot at Bowery & Stillwell behind the Henderson Building in Coney Island. August 22, 2008. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Mark Lovell of Tennessee-based Universal Fairs flew to New York on Monday to sign a lease for Thor Equities’ lot on Stillwell behind the Henderson Building in Coney Island. But the deal turned out to be a no-go, just as it had for the parade of carnival and park operators who’d preceded him. The deal breaker was the fact that he was offered only a one-year lease, according to Lovell. Since it’s so late in the season, Lovell needed two years to recoup the $150K rent plus the $250K investment.

“I passed on the deal,” Lovell told ATZ in an interview. “The reason no one is renting is a termination clause without cause. If Thor thinks it’s too sunny, if they think the operator has bad breath. They don’t need a reason. They can kick you out. They said if someone comes in and wants to buy our property we don’t want to have our hands tied. We want to have total control of our property.”

It’s a loss for Coney Island and New York City because Universal Fairs is a successful promoter and producer of a variety of shows and expos across the country. Among their events are the Delta Fair and Music Festival, Austin Fair and Music Festival, Arizona’s Chandler Ostrich Festival and Louisiana’s Bossier City State Fair. The company whose motto is “World Class Fairs, World Class Results” was ready to invest $250K in capital improvements for sewers, restrooms, electrical, stadium lighting, and a go-kart track. Carnival rides, a petting zoo and John Strong’s sideshow and freak museum were also part of Universal Fairs’ proposal for Coney Island 2010.

Giantess Banner Painted for John Strongs Sideshow in Dreamland Park, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Giantess Banner Painted for John Strong's Sideshow in Dreamland Park, Coney Island. July 25, 2009. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

This piece of news means that the on-again, off-again, on-again saga of John Strong’s Five-Legged Puppy, Tripod the Three legged Duck and his dozens of other freaks returning to Coney Island in 2010 is off again. The deal-in-progress had been a rumor on various message boards for the past few weeks. Whether you’re a fan or foe of Strong’s freak show, the sorry fact is Thor’s Stillwell lots are looking to be dark and deserted come Memorial Day weekend.

John Strong, who lost his much publicized bid to lease Thor’s Grashorn Building, which is now slated for demolition, was resigned to the fact that his second try at a Coney Island comeback had fallen through. “I have a deal with Rob Zombie with my show for a month or more. I’m very excited with it, but we will miss you and Coney Island,” he wrote in an email.

Lovell told ATZ that with only two weeks left till Memorial Day Weekend, his discussions with Thor’s agent Sam Sabin at first centered on whether it would be possible to get all the permits in time. City officials said it wouldn’t due to the very tight time frame. Thor’s people introduced him to a permit expediter but “the guy didn’t know how to get a permit,” said Lovell. “Then I said, before we go any further, are you gonna give me a long term lease? No. Well give me a multi-year lease. Thor won’t give multi-year leases.”

Thor Equities ad in February's Funworld Magazine

The fact that it would cost $10K to take down the framework of Thor’s tents from last year’s failed flea market was seen as yet another obstacle by the promoter. Although the sidewall and tops have been taken down since we wrote about the tattered tents, the framework remains standing. “They won’t take it down. It costs 10 grand to take it down,” Lovell said. “I don’t understand why they have signs up and advertise the property for rent, then they put obstacles in the way of renting it for $150,000—that’s chump change to them.”

Despite all that, Lovell says he would like to come next year and that the people he met in New York City and in Coney Island were super nice. Mark Lovell struck us as a nice guy, too. Hey, come back anytime! Preferably after Joe Sitt flips the property to the City. As ATZ reported last month, with the grand opening of Luna Park and the return of Ringling Brothers Circus, Coney Island’s stakeholders are busy planning an exciting summer season. Thor Equities has yet to announce any tenants or plans for Sitt’s remaining Stillwell parcels, though plans to demolish four historic buildings were released to the media. What kind of game is Joe Sitt playing in his Coney Island sandbox this season? We’ve been mulling it over, so stay tuned. Or if you have a clue, please let us know!

January 7, 2010: New Sign on Stillwell. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Photo of the Day: Interior of Coney Island’s Doomed Henderson Music Hall

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, historic preservation, tagged Coney Island, demolition alert, Henderson Building, Henderson Music Hall, Thor Equities on April 29, 2010| 8 Comments »

Velocity Nightclub in the Henderson Building, 2007. Photo © Charles Denson

This is the seldom-seen interior of the Henderson Building, which Thor Equities has announced plans to demolish and replace with a one-story shopping mall. Is this building “structurally questionable and potentially dangerous” as Thor’s press release claims? We don’t think so, nor does Save Coney Island, which issued their own press release today condemning Thor’s plan to demolish the Henderson, Grashorn and Bank of Coney Island buildings as well as the Shore Hotel.

“Thor’s demolition plan would destroy Coney Island’s history and undermine its unique appeal,” said Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero. “It is a short-sighted squandering of the tremendous potential of these buildings to provide a distinctive Coney Island experience.”

The Velocity Nightclub occupied the second floor on the Bowery side of the former Henderson Music Hall until Thor bought the building and evicted them. “The second floor is completely renovated with original brick and steel exposed. It was the balcony of the theater,” says historian Charles Denson, author of Coney Island Lost & Found.

Vintage Postcard of Henderson's Music Hall Stage in Coney Island. Cezar Del Valle Collection

As we noted in February, the Henderson Music Hall was nominated for landmark designation by Coney Island USA, but has yet to be calendared by the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Its chances are thought to be slim since the building has been altered extensively. It was even cut in half! There’s also the unfortunate fact that the Henderson is owned by real estate speculator Joe Sitt of Thor Equities and occupies a prime site at the corner of Surf and Stillwell that has been rezoned for a high rise hotel. City rezoning documents detail the history of the Henderson Music Hall:

Fred Henderson opened the 3-story brick music hall on Stillwell Avenue at the Bowery around 1900. Henderson’s establishment began as a restaurant at Bowery and Henderson Walk in 1881. When that building burned in 1899, Henderson constructed the new structure to the designs of John B. McElfatrick. The original Italianate southern façade (which fronts on the Bowery) has brick piers, corbelling, stone window lintels, and a bracketed cornice. In 1923, Stillwell Avenue south of Surf Avenue was created by the widening of Stratton’s Walk, and Henderson’s Music Hall was cut in half. At that time, a new brick façade with decorative panels and a stepped parapet was added to the Stillwell Avenue frontage. Additional alterations include modern storefronts and replaced windows. The music hall operated until 1926 and featured such music and vaudeville acts as Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, and Sophie Tucker. During its run, Henderson’s Music Hall was an important Coney Island entertainment venue. From 1926 to 1984, the building housed the World of Wax Musee. The former Henderson’s Music Hall has been extensively altered. This property was identified in the inventory of potential resources prepared by Coney Island USA.

Henderson Building: Thor Equities banner dwarfs shuttered Shoot out the Star. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Thor’s Coney Island: Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt Is Baaack Playing Games!

Posted in Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, Henderson Building, Joe Sitt, Thinkwell, Thor Equities on April 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

Joey Sitt Plays with Bulldozers in His Coney Island Sandbox. Art by Tiny Tim

Joey Sitt Enjoys Playing with Bulldozers in His Coney Island Sandbox. Art by Tiny Tim

Regular readers may remember the above cartoon from last summer’s post “Joe Sitt Plays in His Coney Island Sandbox” (ATZ, July 21, 2009). Summer 2010 is just thirty days away and guess what? Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt is getting ready to play the demolition game in his Coney Island sandbox.

We’re sorry that rumors of Joe Sitt’s plans to demolish historic buildings which we reported in last week’s post “Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings” (ATZ, April 21, 2010) have turned out to be true. This is one time we would have preferred for the rumors to have remained just rumors.

In response to a flurry of queries from reporters about Sitt’s still unleased empty lots and vacant properties, Thor Equities pr flack Knickerbocker SKD issued a press release announcing Sitt’s intention to begin demolishing the buildings and to replace them with other structures by May 2011. According to the release, “These structures will be replaced with more attractive, retail-friendly and up-to-code shops for the type of retailers Coney is famous for.” The Thor-owned buildings under threat of demolition are the Henderson, Grashorn, Bank of Coney Island and Shore Hotel.

Eliot Brown’s piece in the Observer–“The New Coney Island? Sitt Sees Fast Food in Place of Current Buildings”–includes a rendering by Thinkwell that is possibly the worst rendering ever produced for Coney Island. Thinkwell must have been thinking only of the fat fees they get from Thor and not their reputation in the theme park industry when they put their name on it. Anyway it’s pure Bull Sitt because we seriously doubt this interim replacement for the Henderson building — a boxy mall occupied by fast food joints– will ever get built. We suspect it’s just a ploy to make it easier to get a demolition permit from the City.

Thor No More! Joey Bulldozer Poster for Save Coney Island Coalition Rally. January 1, 2008.

We’re also hit by a sense of deja vu. It’s like 2007 on Stillwell Avenue when Thor Equities evicted amusement operators and bulldozed the property to make way for “redevelopment” years ahead of the City’s rezoning. The lots stand empty today. Unfortunately Joey “Bulldozer” Sitt will tear down the historic buildings and build nothing. If the Henderson Building and the Bank of Coney Island are knocked down, the parcels which were rezoned for high rise hotels of up to 27 stories are likely to “sitt” empty until Sitt flips the property.

The situation is so much like 2007, we’ll simply direct you to a three-year-old post by the late great Bob Guskind that could just as well have been written today. (“Coney Island Looking Like Sitt for Memorial Day,” Gowanus Lounge. May 25, 2007)

The Sitt-created blight–which could be corrected by installing temporary amusements–is one thing. But, it is truly a curious thing that as the summer season begins a developer pitching a $2 billion project hasn’t even bothered to prettify the problem or to address the potential public safety hazard that he has created. If we were prone to making extreme statements, we’d call what Mr. Sitt has already done to Coney Island an act of civic contempt that could result in unsavory things as the summer crowds come to the Thor Equities Corridors of Blight. In fact, if we were the types to ascribe underhanded motives to developers, we would suggest that Mr. Sitt has been callous and calculated in creating emptiness and deadness in the heart of Coney Island long before any redevelopment will happen. We might say, in fact, that he is committing a kind of premeditated neighborhood homicide.

Will Save Coney Island hold a funeral for their proposed historic district now or wait till the wrecking ball arrives?