SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Nathan’s Famous Is Still Closed, Source: j. reed via wikimedia commons

Six months following Superstorm Sandy, businesses across Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island are still shuttered and the New York Times is reporting that local business owners are growing anxious over what effect the closures will have on the local economy as summer nears.

The Times report pointed to the large number of businesses still closed on tourist-friendly Emmons Avenue.

“Mambo Sushi, gone! Tzar, gone! Fusion, gone!” said Theresa Scavo, the district manager of Community Board 15, as she reeled off the names of destroyed restaurants on a single block of Emmons Avenue, where only a Greek restaurant, Yiasou, managed to reopen.

A block farther along the bay, a few restaurants and cafes where water reached the ceilings were also shuttered. In total, 14 businesses on Emmons Avenue are still closed, Ms. Scavo said, with a dozen more closed elsewhere in the neighborhood. With warm weather approaching, there is concern that tourists will not flock to the bay as they usually do.

“Everybody suffers, because if people are not coming to eat at your restaurant, they won’t shop at my clothing store,” Ms. Scavo said.

(It’s worth noting that the block of Emmons Avenue where they say only one restaurant, Yiasou, is open, there are actually three open restaurants – Yiasou, Baku Palace and Randazzo’s Clam Bar.)

The problems on Emmons Avenue also extend to Coney Island where, among other places, Nathan’s Famous and the New York Aquarium still remain closed.

Along a six-block stretch of Mermaid Avenue, a commercial street in Coney Island that caters to much of the year-round poor and working-class population, many stores are still locked — among them, a Chase bank, a McDonald’s, a bagel store, a Chinese restaurant, a check-cashing place and a Mexican deli. Edward Cosmé, head of the avenue’s trade association, said his 13-year-old beauty parlor, Hair For U, is open only because he spent $40,000 of his own money to replace hair dryers and salon chairs destroyed in the storm, and he received a $25,000 loan at 1 percent interest and $10,000 in cash from the city’s Department of Small Business Services. But the number of customers is down by more than a third, he said, because some residents displaced by the storm have not returned.

Business owners blamed the continued closures on failing to receive timely government assistance that would have made up for money not covered by flood insurance companies. To date, the city has doled out 45 loans to Sheepshead Bay businesses totaling $1 million with 13 grants amounting to $45,000. In Coney Island, 19 loans have been approved totaling $420,700 with eight grants valued at $40,000. According to a NYC Department of Small Business Services rep who spoke to Sheepshead Bites, this represents an 88 to 90 percent approval rate.

Still, the complexity of government forms have tripped up business owners from getting desperately needed assistance from other sources, like the U.S. Small Business Administration, as we’ve previously reported. (UPDATED: See below)

Jim Tampakis, a man who runs a Red Hook-based ship boiler and pump repair shop gave up on trying to seek federal help entirely.

“I became discouraged,” Tampakis told the Times. “There was a feeling that businesses were getting the runaround.”

The problem facing business owners like Tampakis has led Councilman Domenic Recchia, who is currently running for Congress, to urge the city to ease the process.

“It’s imperative that more businesses have access to this type of funding so that they can get back on their feet,” Recchia told the Times.

Whether or not the businesses that are still closed can clear the bureaucratic red-tape and conquer their financial difficulties before the busy summer season starts remains to be seen.

UPDATE (May 2, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.): A previous version of this article noted in the segment providing the loan totals that business owners have had trouble with paperwork for these loans. An SBS representative called us this morning to note that the link we directed viewers to regarded the U.S. Small Business Administration loan rates, which, at the time, was below 30 percent. The SBS rep said the numbers in this article, which are for SBS, actually reflected a much higher approval rate than SBA, at a rate of 88 to 90 percent. We regret any confusion caused by the link, and have separated it out from the paragraph and tweaked the language to more accurately portray the situation.

Photo Courtesy Of Jeremy Drakeford

Officials from the Parks Department and the National Parks Service are collaborating on plans to bring food concession stands, and bike and kayak rentals to Jamaica Bay, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

Officials hope that an expansion of services in the region will go hand-in-hand with the restoration of the bay.

“We’re excited about the future plans for Jamaica Bay,” Dan Mundy Jr. of Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers told the Daily News. “People will have greater access to the bay and we will also be able to keep up with restoration programs.”

Dan Hendrick, who is making a documentary called Jamaica Bay Lives, told the Daily News that increased tourism friendly activities around the bay will have a positive impact on the community that lives near the bay.

But Hendrick said many area residents have a “disconnect” with the bay because they consider it polluted. He hopes by opening it up to different kinds of recreation — such as camping in areas such as Floyd Bennett Field — they will develop a connection.

While its nice that the Parks Department and the National Parks Service want to create a more tourist friendly Jamaica Bay, there is also a mixed message being sent as the industrialization of Floyd Bennett Field continues with the development of the Jamaica Bay pipeline project.

Despite this, officials are excited about transforming Jamaica Bay into a hotter tourist destination, hoping that added amenities will spark a resurgence of interest.

Click to enlarge. Photo by Allan Rosen

THE COMMUTE: Most New Yorkers do not notice the sign in the station booths explaining the fare, except perhaps to check the price of a seven- or 30-day pass. However, to a tourist, it is essential that this sign be clear and self-explanatory. They were clear until the MTA discontinued MetroCards for a one-way subway trip and replaced them with “SingleRide Tickets,” available only at MetroCard vending machines, costing an additional 25 cents at the time of the last fare increase.

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Brighton Beach’s Bureau of Tourism* recently commissioned its award-winning marketing team to create a documentary on the wonders that are Brighton Beach.  Experience the beach, the sun, the ill fitting speedos, and the worldly shopping choices of “Little Russia by the Sea.”

Don’t take our word for it, here is what the video’s creator has to say:

This is the Brighton Beach neighborhood, one block from the beach, its not that beautiful, but its pretty beautiful, its not Manhattan, but 6 months out of the year, these people are leaving in a very nice little paradise.

That’s right, it sure ain’t Manhattan. Just watch out for the Mexican gangs.

* There is no such thing as the Brighton Beach Bureau of Tourism.

A rendering for “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!”

After we reported to you back in 2010 that the New York City Public Design Commission approved a new 57,000-square-foot structure at the New York Aquarium to house the “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced during a press conference at the facility, Surf Avenue at West 8th Street last Thursday that the project is nearer to fruition.

Coney Island City Councilman Domenic Recchia joined Mayor Bloomberg and Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristián Samper to unveil the design for the exhibit, which will feature 115 species of marine animals including sharks, rays, sea turtles, thousands of schooling fish and more. The exhibit will hold more than 500,000 gallons of water, including 40 sharks.

According to the website, MikeBloomberg.com:

“The Mayor and Wildlife Conservation Society also announced a major private gift of $7.5 million from Wildlife Conservation Society Trustee Barbara Hrbek Zucker and her husband, Don Zucker. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the New York Aquarium, is raising $34.4 million in private funds, of which $11 million has already been raised. The City has committed $93.1 million in public funds to the project, which will transform the exhibit space to feature more than 100 different species of marine animals – including sharks – and bolster Coney Island as a premier tourist destination.”

The plans for the aquarium’s makeover include a spiral ramp connecting the facility to the boardwalk, built with a 1,000 feet of tiny aluminum squares that reflect light and move with the wind. The ramp will then go from the interior of the structure and lead out to new gathering spaces along the boardwalk.

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City & State’s morning newsletter, First Read, carried this little nugget:

The Bloomberg administration has been on a record-breaking streak this past few weeks. Last week, the mayor proudly welcomed the city’s 50 millionth tourist. On Tuesday, he trumpeted the dramatic increase in life expectancy for city residents, higher than it’s ever been. Yesterday, he stood with NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to declare the third lowest number of homicides since record-keeping began 50 years ago. And today, Bloomberg is set to announce that traffic-related deaths are at an all-time low.

More tourists, longer lives, lower crime and less death… not a bad year for the City of New York.

Of course, there will be no shortage of naysayers out there who will say, “Yeah, but what about the economy?” Or maybe, “Herr Bloombucks is destroying this city by X-Y-Z.”

Perhaps. But the existence of bad news does not negate the good news. If 2011 is to end – and, of course, it will – better to fill its last few hours with some positive thoughts of the year past.

What are some other great accomplishments that have occurred in 2011?

Fortunately, the NY Aquarium will NOT have flying sharks. (Source: wowfailblog.com)

A new housing complex is coming to Coney Island, with what will be the neighborhood’s most dangerous residents: sharks!

The NYC Public Design Commission approved a new structure at the New York Aquarium (Surf Avenue and West 8th Street). The 50,000-square-foot facility, called “Ocean Wonders: Shark,” will feature 115 species of marine animals, including 40 sharks.

Keep reading. Trust me, you’ll like this one.

According to L Magazine, this is what our streets look like. Lay off the acid, hippies... (Source: thelmagazine.com)

The scribes over at L Magazine – who definitely know how to write a good “Best of” list – just compiled their list of 50 Best Blocks In Brooklyn. Like the rest of the city’s media, they overlooked Southern Brooklyn. Just two blocks made it onto their list:

9. Best Block For Low-Brow Entertainment
The Boardwalk between Stillwell and 10th Streets, Coney Island
Shoot the Freak, Ruby’s and Cha Cha’s, two amusement parks, and a handful of places to buy greasy fries and Budweiser. You’re welcome.

27. Best Block For Wildlife
Shore Parkway between Bay 44th and Bay 56th Streets, Gravesend
This big-ass block is otherwise known as Calvert Vaux Park, a south Brooklyn shoreline destination for the borough’s birders.

But we know Southern Brooklyn has some great blocks. How about Emmons Avenue, the best block “where there is water and [you] can walk around pointlessely, spitting seeds and talking shit about fat relatives and friends.”

Or Voorhies Avenue near East 28th Street, the best place to witness a hate crime neighbors will describe as road rage?

East 17th Street between Avenue U to Avenue Z, the best place to shatter your car’s axle going a measly 25 miles-per-hour?

Over in Gravesend, there’s Avenue V and West 11th Street, the best block on which to buy a condo if you want to see your property value go nowhere.

We’ve got loads of great blocks in and around Sheepshead Bay, not to mention the rest of Brooklyn. So, L Magazine, you wags… what the hell?

You know, I’m guessing it’s just that you don’t know our area too well. Why don’t you come down here, and we’ll take a walk to Sheepshead Bay’s prime hipster hangouts?

When I talk privately with friends about Sheepshead Bay’s recreational fishing industry (and other summer activities), I often say the city government ought to do more to promote the area for local tourism. Sure, it ain’t South Street Seaport, but it’s one of the nation’s oldest fishing villages, and there’s nowhere else like it in the five boroughs.

Not to mention, the city spent $13 million renovating the waterfront in the 1990s. Wouldn’t you want to max out that investment?

But, little did I know, the city’s Parks Department did put a little bit of effort into promoting the neighborhood.

Time warp back to 2006! The video above was shot for It’s My Park, a government produced television series that features parks and park-related activities around the city. The show airs on NYC TV Channel 25 on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m.

Yes, it’s a little cheesy (just listen to that gawd awful music). But it’s a good example of what the city should do more of to promote neighborhood commerce. At the moment, a search for “sheepshead” on NYCgo.com – the official website for NYC tourism – has 13 results. Most of which are irrelevant or decidedly un-touristy business listings (Kings Plaza Macy’s, anyone?).

But NYC is a big city, and I’m sure most neighborhoods are clamoring for more tourist love. So the downtown bigwigs that run the show have their job cut out for them. Maybe what they need are some creative ideas from locals.

So – how can New York City do a better job promoting our neighborhood as a summer tourist destination?

I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young lady a few days ago at an event in Manhattan. We were just at the beginning of our niceties, exchanging some basic information about what part of the city we live in, when she stated something about her experience with Sheepshead Bay.

Young Lady: Oh, hi. It’s nice to meet you, Ray. And where do you live?

Me: I’m from Sheepshead Bay.

Young Lady: Oh, you’re from Sheepshead Bay?

Me: Yeah. You heard of it?

Young Lady: I used to go there a lot, but I don’t like to go to there, anymore.

Me: Really? Why?

Young Lady: Because, every time I go there all the Russian people start speaking in Russian to me. I tell them that I’m not Russian and I don’t speak Russian, but they still keep talking to me in Russian. I don’t know why they do that. I don’t even wanna go back there.

Me: (looking dumbfounded) Oh, I see.

Has anyone ever had a similar experience as my new friend? Would an experience such as the one my new friend described make you want to stay away from Sheepshead Bay or would it make you feel welcomed as part of the community? Speak up, here. Russian language speakers welcome.