SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

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The city is giving a break to the operators of Luna Park on Coney Island by extending their lease an additional seven years, according to a report by the New York Post.

Zamperla USA, an Italian-based company, will be granted a seven year extension by the City Council. Councilman Domenic Recchia explained the situation to the Post:

“[Zamperla USA] invested a lot of money after suffering damages from Sandy, so it’s fair to give them more time to recoup their money considering they hired so many people from the neighborhood.”

The original lease, given in 2010, was set for 10 years, but now Zamperla USA will be staying put until the far off futuristic year of 2027; a time when flying roller-coasters will be the norm.

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, run by the Vourderis family, is also getting a seven year extension.

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The Coney Island boardwalk had a triumphant reopening this past Sunday as thousands of people swarmed the beloved rides and reveled in some pre-summer fun. Despite this positive step towards recovery, many Coney residents aren’t joining in the joy. Still hurting from the devastating destruction left by Superstorm Sandy, protesters demanding action were seen alongside park revelers.

According to a report by Crain’s, the reopening of Coney Island’s boardwalk and rides was a smash success and one of the biggest openings in the park’s history. The usual gaggle of Russian immigrants, dog walkers and joggers navigated a deluge of thrill-seeking roller-coaster lovers, filling the boardwalk with energy and happiness.

“Normally Palm Sunday is a day for the locals and the diehards, but we had people here from all over,” Wonder Wheel operator Steve Vouderis told Crain’s. “It feels good to be back.”

Despite all the revelry and enthusiasm expressed over the return of the rides, Coney Island’s amusement business is still not 100 percent. According to a report by the New York Daily News, Coney Island’s famed freak sideshows are still not operational and won’t be expected to return until May.

Workers need two more months to finish repairing the nearly half million dollars worth of damage inside the Coney Island Circus Sideshow theater on Surf. Ave which was under four-feet of water after the Oct. 29th disaster.

It’s the first time in 32 years since the freaks missed their opening day acts.

“We aren’t happy that we aren’t open. But we are exciting about what we are rebuilding,” said Coney Island USA founder Dick Zigun who runs the shows.

Frustration was also felt by the now long-suffering Coney Island residents, with many protesting the slow progress in restoring much needed public facilities like the library and post office and clearing piles of debris.

“We’re in an isolated peninsula here on Coney Island, and we feel that they forgot about us,” a protester told PIX 11.

Local politicians on hand for the festivities surrounding the reopening of Luna Park promised relief but stressed that time is a factor in making sure all the funds from the $60 billion Sandy aid package are distributed properly.

“Its going to take several months, but the good news is, [the bill] is both generous and flexible, and is aimed at helping people from every different walk of life who were hurt by Sandy,” Senator Charles Shumer told PIX 11.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz understood the slow pace of the federal dispersal of the approved funds, but expressed empathy with the protesters.

“I think they’re right actually,” PIX reported Markowitz saying, “but it should go must faster than its been going.”

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Get ready to spin, twirl and fly again this Sunday as many famous Coney Island attractions are set to open for the first time since Superstorm Sandy caused millions of dollars of damage to the landmark, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

The world-famous amusement area of Coney Island will open with a victorious hot-dog eating contest at a satellite Nathan’s Famous located on the boardwalk. The Nathan’s HQ on the corner of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue is still undergoing repairs but is expected to be in operation for the annual July 4 hot-dog eating championship. A banner hangs defiantly over the iconic frankfurter mecca carrying this message:

“After 100 years, no hurricane will keep us down.”

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park was soaked with $1 million in damages but that beautiful red and blue wheel will be spinning proud come Sunday.

“They’ve been cleaning, repairing and replacing,” said Ken Hochman, a spokesman for Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park told the Daily News.

Not everyone will be parading through Luna Park and the Wonder Wheel complex with glee come Sunday. Todd Dobrin, an activist and president of the “Friends of Coney Island Boardwalk,” plans to protest this Sunday as the area’s library, community centers and post office still remain closed post-Sandy.

Coney Island may have been battered by Superstorm Sandy last October, but local business operators are still hoping for a record summer, according to a report by Crain’s.

Optimism for a full rebound of America’s Playground comes in the form of all the money and hard work poured into Coney’s rebuilding following the superstorm’s impact. According to Wonder Wheel owner Dennis Vourderis, the dozens of attractions have been repainted and refurbished, giving the area a fresh new look.

“We’re gonna look as good as the first day we opened,” Vourderis told Crain’s. “Probably better.”

Other signs of encouragement stem from the record number of visitors Coney has drawn in recent years, as well as a desire by New Yorkers to make sure the local landmark remains bright and strong.

Since a contentious redevelopment in 2009, attendance at the amusement park has set new records each summer, peaking at more than 1 million visitors last year, a 50% increase over the 2011 season.

What’s more, this summer Coney Island will have something else going for it, a wave of public support.

“We’ve gotten so much support in the recovery, online, on the streets, in donations, and I just know that support is going to be down here when we’re open, to celebrate,” said Johanna Zaki, director of operations at the Alliance for Coney Island, a newly formed business group.

Despite the enthusiasm for a full Coney comeback, one famed event – the annual Mermaid Parade – might not make it this year:

The future of the famed Mermaid Parade is also in doubt, because its operator may not be able to afford the event. The parade has grown more popular in recent years, reaching more than half-a-million spectators last year, but so has the cost of hosting it.

Coney Island USA, which has a museum and performance space on Surf Avenue, sustained more than $400,000 in damage, said Dick Zigun, who runs the organization and parade and is often considered the “mayor” of Coney. Mr. Zigun is banking on a fundraiser at Webster Hall Sat., March 9, to see him through. “Without that money, we’re going to have to cut back somewhere,” he said. “As it is, unless we get a lot of walk-ups to the party, I’m not sure we’re gonna make it.”

Source: angiepontani.com

It’s cold, it’s February and you don’t have work. Perhaps a spanking new job by the beach, courtesy of the Alliance for Coney Island, can snap you out of your winter funk. According to a report by the New York Post, there are hundreds of summer jobs available for those who register now.

This Saturday, the Alliance for Coney Island will begin its fourth annual recruitment drive. They are looking to fill 250 summer jobs with the promise of hundreds more being offered at a later date. The organization will be holding a screening event on February 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lincoln High School (2800 Ocean Parkway.)

Positions are available at Luna Park, Nathan’s Famous and Deno’s Wonder Wheel but to attend the screening, you must register by visiting www.coneyislandjobs2013.com.

The jobs screening event is a joint collaboration between the Alliance for Coney Island, the HireNYC Program, the Economic Development Corp., Workforce 1, Small Business Services  and Councilman Domenic Recchia.

The tale of Topsy the Elephant is sad and cruel, and today marks the 110th year since her grisly demise at the hands of Thomas Edison’s staged electrocution on Coney Island at Luna Park.

Topsy was a female circus elephant who never was comfortable with her captivity. Over her 28-year lifespan, she killed three men including a sadistic and abusive trainer who tried to feed Topsy lit cigarettes as food. Because of Topsy’s infractions towards her brutal masters, she was deemed too dangerous to live.

Originally, Topsy’s Luna Park owners wanted to kill her by hanging, but according to Wikipedia, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stepped in and prevented that from happening. Although, quite frankly, in today’s world the logistics of hanging an elephant seem far more amazing than any of the alternatives.

But that’s today’s world. One hundred years ago, the alternative offered by famed inventor Thomas Edison was nearly magical. Edison stepped up and had the bright idea of electrocuting Topsy to death. Why that wasn’t considered cruel is beyond me, but everyone was willing to go along with it. It was just that kind of world.

Edison’s motives were to use poor Topsy as a prop in his ongoing war against Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla’s far superior Alternating Current electrical system. Edison, the inventor of the clearly inferior Direct Current method, juiced Topsy with 6,600 volts of Tesla’s AC, dropping her in seconds.

More than 1,500 spectators gathered at Luna Park on January 4, 1903, to witness the grim spectacle, and Edison filmed the execution as “evidence” of AC’s unsafe nature.

Edison distributed his short film throughout the United States, providing one of the earliest examples of filmed corporate propaganda. Ultimately, DC won the battle for America’s infrastructure in large part because of this flick.

While Topsy’s fate was tragic, her memory lives on in the form of a memorial erected at the Coney Island Museum on July 20, 2003.

Photo by: BSH Shooter

Amusing the Zillion recently reported that Sheepshead Bay-institution Randazzo is contemplating opening up a second location in Coney Island at Cha Cha’s old spot on the boardwalk.  But it’s not without obstacles. ATZ states that “Ferrari, CEO of Zamperla USA and Luna Park, told them ‘a Boardwalk restaurant/bar hoping to get a lease renewal would have had to make a million dollar investment.’”

Does Randazzo’s have that kind of scratch? “ATZ asked Joey Randazzo if they were contemplating a $1 million investment at Cha Cha’s location. He said it could be half a million or a million, they’re not sure yet.”

While we’re all for business expansion and want to see the Coney Island boardwalk filled with local Brooklyn businesses, we’re wondering, would a second Randazzo’s be good for Sheepshead Bay? Should Randazzo’s Coney Island be a replica of our neighborhood institution? Or should the Randazzos forget the Coney Island deal and put that “half a million or a million” into improvements at the current joint? What say you?

Here’s a shot of the new Coney Island roller coaster, which we assume is the Soaring Eagle, at the upcoming Zamperla “Scream Zone” park.

The Soaring Eagle is one of two new coasters to sit on Zamperla’s newest digs. It’s described by the company as a flying coaster on which riders navigate the track in a nearly prone “superhero” flying position. Soaring Eagle uses a spiral lift system to climb 50 feet and reaches a top speed of 26 mph.

Your thoughts?

Photo by Phil/Knightmare6.

Cover detail courtesy of DCComics.com

Coney Island collides with the world of comic books in Kevin Baker’s Luna Park from Vertigo/DC Comics. The story follows Alik Strelnikov, a Russian mafia “enforcer” and explores parts of the community’s criminal underworld, while also delving into the immigrant experience. The plot periodically flashes back to Alik’s ancestors in Russia and examine how their choices shaped his existence, while Alik navigates his complicated life in the modern day Coney Island with his fortune-telling/prostitute girlfriend Marina. To complicate matters, Alik is having a hard time coming to terms with his military past. Together, Alik and Marina embark on the American Dream, trying to improve their lot in life and escape their situation in Coney Island. In a WSJ Blog the comics’ author Kevin Baker compares Alik to “Jake Gittes in Chinatown or Roy Hobbs in The Natural or even Jay Gatsby.” But to the digital generation [i.e. me], he sounds a lot more like Grand Theft Auto IV’s Niko Bellic or even Nicolas Cage’s Yury Orlov from Lord of War. Either way, this should be a colorful depiction of the historic neighborhood, and certainly not another Brighton Beach Memoirs.