On Saturday January 28st at 3pm, there will be a very important open meeting at the Brighton Beach Library–16 Brighton First Rd. at Brighton Beach Ave.–  hosted by the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance and Friends of the Boardwalk. Please come to this meeting to find out how you can help. RSVP to Rob at robburstein[at]hotmail[dot]com. Click here for directions.

We received word that the Parks Department has postponed the date of the presentation of their Boardwalk proposal to the Design Commission. Therefore, the hearing will no longer be held on January 30th, as we were originally told.

The hearing has been tentatively rescheduled for February 21st.
As soon as that date is confirmed, we will inform you.

(Photo by Kevin Richardson)

Please help the effort to keep the Parks Dpt. from replacing Coney’s historic Boardwalk with concrete.  Our friends at Amusing the Zillion have a great summary of where things stand.  If you want to help, here’s what you can do:

1) On Saturday January 28st at 3pm, there will be a very important open meeting at the Brighton Beach Library–16 Brighton First Rd. at Brighton Beach Ave.–  hosted by the Coney-Brighton Boardwalk Alliance and Friends of the Boardwalk. Please come to this meeting to find out how you can help. RSVP to Rob at robburstein[at]hotmail[dot]com. Click here for directions.

2) Sign the petition! Tell New York City’s Parks Department not to destroy the world-famous Coney Island Boardwalk! Sign this petition here.

[Note: please visit the site even if you think you have already signed, because many signatures were not recorded due to a glitch in the system that has now been fixed. If you see a blue phrase "Inside U.S.," you MUST click on this before signing. You'll know your signature has gone through when you see a page that says, "Thanks for signing." The site will reject duplicate names, so it is not possible to sign twice.]

3) Please set aside Monday, January 30th for the next New York City Design Commission meeting. As difficult as it may be to take off from work, this will be our last chance to influence the decision. Each person who shows up gets three minutes to speak to the Commission. The more people who show up, the more time we get. If you think you can attend, please contact Rob Burstein, robburstein[at]hotmail[dot]com.

where: 253 Broadway, 5th Floor, right near the City Hall stop on the R train.

when: The time of the meeting won’t be confirmed until one week before, so please check back here or at the Facebook page for updates.

SCI presents the third Siren Screen Series, an evening of short films. This year’s schedule features our biggest ever array of award winning filmmakers. Included to the lineup; Charlie Denson, Howie Alex, a collaboration featuring Emmy winner Jesse Dylan and best selling author Larry “Ratso” Sloman, as well as many more. Balancing the collection of short films, a scheduled performance by the incomparable and unstoppable Kryssy Kocktail!

Who: An all-star collection of local filmmakers, all united with the common goal of promoting Coney Island

When: Wednesday, Dec 14th; 8:00PM

Where: Black Horse Pub; 568 5th Ave.@ 16th St., Brooklyn!

How Much: Just $10!

This SCI fundraiser is being assembled by director Johnny Salvatore to promote local filmmakers and Coney Island.
The evening will include the following short films, among others! (You can find a longer description here.)

Featuring the Mistress of Ceremonies, indie actress sensation and mermaid in a former life, Ms. Molly Ryman!

	Veronica Lopez Shoot the Freak
	Charlie Denson Coney Island: Secrets of the Universe
	Howie Alex January 1st
	Jane Dorogoyer Springtime in November
	Amanda Jencsik/Chris DePierro The Blue Umbrella
	Mahawish Rezvi/Rebecca Huval Saving the Sideshow
	Alexis Neophytides Coney Island is for the Birds
	Jesse Dylan Coney

Also on display throughout the night, the beautiful Coney-based artwork from Bensonhurst native, Alicia Degener.  Her work, like this one, will be available for sale with a 10% commission going to Save Coney Island.

Don’t miss it!

Good news from Coney Island! Some of the beloved, longtime businesses on Coney Island’s Boardwalk may have been granted a last-minute reprieve.

The businesses had expected to be evicted with their current leases about to run out. However, a deal between Central Amusements International — which runs the properties under a lease from the City of New York — and a Miami Beach restaurateur to remake the Boardwalk fell apart after the restaurateur bowed out.

According to news reports, Central Amusement International is now negotiating long-term leases with some of the existing Boardwalk businesses. Ruby’s Bar and Grill and Paul’s Daughter — the two oldest of the Boardwalk businesses — have been named in news reports as businesses that may end up staying.

In response to the news, Save Coney Island issued the following statement:

Save Coney Island is heartened by the news that some of Coney Island’s longtime and beloved Boardwalk businesses may be allowed to remain. This is very good news for Coney Island!

We applaud Central Amusement International for changing course and apparently allowing at least some of the businesses to stay. We urge the City of New York and Central Amusement International to make sure that these businesses are given long-term leases that let them remain under viable terms.

These businesses are beloved Boardwalk icons. They tie Coney Island to its rich history and contribute to its distinctive sense of place. Moreover, these family-owned businesses stuck by Coney Island through some tough times; they earned the right to be part of the new Coney Island.

Successful redevelopment of Coney Island means bringing in innovative, new attractions and establishments while retaining the best of the old Coney Island. The loss of the Boardwalk’s longstanding businesses would have been a tragedy for Coney Island and a grave setback for its redevelopment.

More broadly, the City should work to ensure that local entrepreneurs and small businesses are an integral part of Coney Island’s redevelopment. Coney Island needs the color, quirkiness and creative energy that local entrepreneurs have to offer. They help make Coney Island unique, and not some generic commercial strip.

Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero participated in a forum on Coney Island redevelopment in a recent issue of the New York City real estate newspaper The Real Deal.

Here’s what he said in response to some questions from The Real Deal:

How concerned are you about old-time Coney Island businesses going under?

The departure of old-time Coney Island businesses is of great concern on a number of counts. First, they are part of what makes Coney Island unique, and not some generic strip off an interstate highway. Second, the retention and cultivation of local businesses makes sense as a matter of economic policy, since a higher percentage of the revenues they generate remain within the local economy. It is lamentable that the city has not encouraged leasing to local businesses on the land that it owns. The boardwalk and Coney Island could use the color, quirkiness and creative energy that local entrepreneurs have to offer and that chains and big corporations struggle to provide.

There is still a lack of higher-end restaurants and amenities in the area. Do you expect that to change?

Throughout most of its history, Coney Island has been a place of affordable amusement and recreation for anyone who could afford the price of a subway ride. Its old monikers — the People’s Playground, the Poor Man’s Riviera or the Nickel Empire — tell you as much. … Coney Island is an affordable amusement destination that is, and should continue to be, available to all New Yorkers.

Are there any buildings or projects outside of the main amusement park that you’re keeping an eye on?

Absolutely. The newly landmarked Shore Theater has a central location, and with the right vision it could again be a theater destination. The landmarked Childs Restaurant Building on the boardwalk is an obvious anchor for the western side of the district, and it’s just a matter of time before someone turns it into a restaurant, a club or a concert venue. On the south side of Surf Avenue, we envision the Grashorn, the oldest building in the amusement area, as a museum, a theme restaurant or perhaps a large haunted house. … One current development project we’re watching is the construction of new structures on Surf Avenue by Thor Equities. Regrettably, given Thor’s record so far in Coney Island, we don’t have very high expectations.

This weekend Coney Island opens for another season of excitement!  Coney Island is going  to look a lot different this spring than it did last season, due to several welcome additions and to several unfortunate losses.

The good news first:

• Zamperla’s Luna Park will be joined by a second amusement park, the Scream Zone! The new park will feature thrilling rides such as two new roller coasters and a human Sling Shot.
• Seven of Coney’s Boardwalk businesses, including the beloved Ruby’s bar, will reopen for one last season on the beachfront.
• The Shore Theater and the building that houses Coney Island USA have both approved for designation as New York City landmarks by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  The designations have not been opposed and are waiting for a vote by the full City Council.
• Coney Island’s oldest building, the Grashorn, is reportedly being leased by a movie company making “Men in Black 3,” which is shooting in Coney Island.
• The Coney Island History Project has found new digs, moving from the site of the Cyclone to Deno’s Wonder Wheel park.

And now, the bad news:

• Thor Equities made great haste during the fall and winter to demolish three of Coney Island’s most historic buildings — Henderson’s Music Hall, the Shore Hotel and the Bank of Coney Island. The promise to have new buildings in their place has not been met.  In addition, Thor is bringing back a flea market along Stillwell Avenue, a site that should be used for amusements.
• The Parks Department has not yet abandoned its plan to replace parts of Coney’s historic Boardwalk with concrete, despite the public outcry.

During this time of ongoing change, Save Coney Island is still fighting for a bright future for the world’s playground. We want a Coney Island that will be a world-class amusement destination; to preserve a unique atmosphere infused with the creativity of small businesses owners, entrepreneurs and artists; and to preserve Coney Island’s rich history as a key element to a successful and vibrant future.

We look forward to seeing you in Coney Island!

Come to Coney Island on New Year’s Day for a protest and a swim. Starting at 10:30 am, folks will gather by Ruby’s to protest the eviction of eight of the Boardwalk businesses. Once you’ve worked yourself into a state of agitation, cool yourself down in the water at the annual Polar Bear New Year’s Day swim. We hope you can make it.

Ruby’s Protest
Where: Ruby’s
When: Starting at 10:30 am

Polar Bear Swim
Where: Boardwalk at Stillwell
When: 1:00 pm
http://www.polarbearclub.org/

As the end of the year approaches and everyone is still in the spirit of giving thanks, we wanted to thank you for your support over the past year.  The summer of 2010 was a critical season for Coney Island, with many twists and turns.  From the successful season of the new Luna Park, to the ongoing demolition of historic buildings, to the efforts to evict longstanding Boardwalk businesses, the past half year has shown us that Coney’s future remains precarious, with both enormous potential and profound threats.

Save Coney Island remains committed to a vision of Coney Island that promotes its extraordinary heritage as it is revitalized to become a thriving amusement destination once again.  Now that the rides are packed up for winter, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back on the work accomplished this year – none of which would have been possible without your absolutely vital support.

Initiatives

1. In March we wrote a commentary, published by the Center for an Urban Future, that made short-term recommendations for enhancing the Coney Island visitor experience. The report led to
   coverage by programs like WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” To our delight, some the items in
   our list had come to pass by the end of the season.
2. Working with leading preservation groups, we prepared an application for the creation of a
   Coney Island historic district that was submitted to the New York City Landmarks Preservation
   Commission. The application was supported by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the
   Historic Districts Council, Coney Island USA, and the Coney Island History Project.
3. With the same coalition, we prepared an application for a National Register Historic District
   for the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The SHPO responded to our
   application with a Determination of Eligibility for inclusion on the State and National Registers
   of Historic Places. Eventual inclusion on the registers would potentially make government funds
   and tax incentives available for the restoration of the historic buildings.
4. In September we helped organize a fantastic panel at the CUNY Graduate to discuss how
   Coney’s history could play a part in its future. Moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
   Mike Wallace, the panel included developer David Malmuth, historian Michael Immerso,
   preservationist Lisa Ackerman of World Monuments Fund, and amusement operator Valerio
   Ferrari.

Advocacy

1. With the help of volunteer architects, we created three renderings of Coney’s endangered historic
   buildings. These designs illustrated the tremendous reuse potential of the buildings and offered
   alternatives for redevelopment without demolition.
2. Our crack team of volunteer graphic designers produced and printed a beautiful map of Coney’s
   amusement area. This map lists all the businesses, services, and attractions, and it provides a
   brief history of Coney. It is the only free map of the area available and we hope to do a far larger print run next season.
3. In support of our historic district application, we designed and produced postcards addressed
   to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Volunteers collected signatures from Coney
   Island supporters all over the city throughout the spring months.
4. We created a brochure to bring attention to the significance of the historic corridor that remains
   on Surf Avenue. The brochure includes descriptions of the individual buildings with historic
   images illustrating their unique histories.
5. We published an Op-Ed in the Daily News calling attention the importance of Coney’s history to
   its redevelopment.

Outreach

1. Throughout the summer, we conducted almost 20 free walking tours of historic Coney Island.
   Hundreds of people who joined us and learned about the tremedous opportunities to make Coney
   Island’s rich history central to its future.
2. We staged two pieces of political theater at Coney Island to bring attention to the demolition
   threat by Thor. The first was a mock auction in which Coney’s mermaids considered adaptive
   reuse scenarios for the area’s historic buildings. The second was the Rally of the Many Marxes
   held at Henderson’s Music Hall, where Harpo Marx made his stage debut.
3. In addition to these things, throughout the year volunteers from Save Coney Island have initiated and
   attended meetings with a variety of experts and stakeholders — from preservation organizations, to
   developers and state and city agencies — to advocate for the best Coney Island possible. In order to build
   on the successes of this last year, to keep our initiatives active, and to explore new strategies we rely on
   your continued support.

To all of you who contributed, volunteered your time, or even attended any of our events: none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you.

Please donate to support our work by clicking on the “Donate” link at the top of the left column.