Prominent historian of Coney Island Michael Immerso warns of the danger to Coney Island’s historic Surf Avenue corridor in an article just published on The Huffington Post. Immerso, author of “Coney Island: The People’s Playground,” writes:

Surf Avenue and the nearby Bowery were the core of Coney Island’s amusement district. This core district was not defined by its architecture but rather by its honky-tonk flavor: cafes, dime museums, dance halls, and sideshows. Henderson’s Music Hall, the Grashorn Building, and the Shore Hotel — all of which Thor is threatening to demolish — embody those uses and therefore are architecturally representative of this historically significant amusement district and certainly merit preservation. The Grashorn Building dates back to the 1880s, when Coney Island emerged as the world’s pre-eminent amusement mecca. Henderson’s is the last surviving example of the music halls that thrived at Coney Island at the turn of the century and were proving grounds for such iconic figures Harry Houdini, Irving Berlin, Jimmy Durante, and the Marx Brothers.

Eleven prominent historians of New York City have signed a letter urging the preservation of several historic Coney Island buildings currently threatened with demolition by developer Thor Equities.

Among the endangered buildings are several dating back more than a century, including both the amusement district’s oldest building and the music hall where Harpo Marx first performed with his brothers Groucho and Gummo.

“We believe that these historic buildings should be preserved, restored and reused,” the historians write. “Together, these buildings and other historic structures could serve as a historic core for a new 21st-century amusement district, tying Coney Island’s future to its rich past.”
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There has been such interest in our walking tour of Coney Island’s historic buildings, that we’ve decided to keep doing them.  So if you missed the first one, you get another chance…

The next one will be this Sunday. The guided tour will cover all the historic buildings along Surf Avenue, as well as some of Coney’s existing landmarks. Learn more about Coney Island’s rich history, the importance of preserving it, and what Save Coney Island is doing to protect what remains of this extraordinary heritage.

WHEN – Sunday, June 13th at 11:00 am
FREE! (but suggested donation of $10 appreciated.)
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A volunteer leading a tour.

The first walking tour of Coney Island’s historic buildings was a tremendous success.  We had thirty more participants than the twenty we expected.

Several people, at the walk and by email, strongly encouraged us to do these historic tours on a regular basis.  We had expected this to be a one time thing to celebrate the opening of Luna Park.  But given the level of interest, we’re hoping to organize a tour every few weeks — provided, of course, that Thor Equities has not torn down the historic buildings that we’re there to see.  If you could not join us the first time around, we hope that you’ll join us next time!

If you missed this one, you can download the informative brochure we provided to tour-goers:

tour_brochure_advocacy 6.15.10sm.pdf

Also, here’s a short clip of one of the tours, led by Save Coney Island spokesperson Juan Rivero. Many thanks to the tour attendee who was kind enough to film and post this quick taste of the experience!

Save Coney Island today hailed the opening this weekend of Zamperla USA’s Luna Park as a key step toward the revitalization of Coney Island.

But, at the same time, Save Coney Island warned that Coney Island’s historic heritage is in grave danger, with speculator Thor Equities planning to demolish several of Coney Island’s most historically significant buildings.

“The opening of Luna Park is a cause for great celebration, a step toward restoring Coney Island to its glory days,” said Save Coney Island spokesman, Juan Rivero. “But at the same time, our celebration is tempered by the fact that the last remnants of those glory days are in danger of imminent demolition.”
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Join us this Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Luna Park with a walking tour of Coney Island’s remaining historic buildings.  The guided tour will cover the Coney Island Historic District that we are urging the Landmarks Preservation Commission to create, as well as some of Coney’s existing landmarks.

Learn more about Coney Island’s rich history, the importance of preserving it, and what Save Coney Island is doing to protect what remains of this extraordinary heritage.

WHERE – In front of the Shore Theater, on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Aves
WHEN – Saturday, May 29th at 11:00 am
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Prominent voices are joining the chorus calling for Coney Island’s historic buildings to be saved from Thor’s wrecking ball. Both Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Municipal Art Society have called for the threatened structures to be saved.

Markowitz wrote in a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission:

Although Coney Island was once the Playground of the World, much of its historic past has been razed due to fire or disinvestment. The remaining buildings represent the last remaining elements of historic Coney Island. Preserving the structures will not only maintain the historic context of the amusement district but enhance the new development.

New York’s oldest planning and preservation group, the Municipal Art Society, issued a statement saying:

…much of the public appeal of Coney Island lies in its heritage, and there is great public support for preserving the best of Coney’s past while building new buildings and rides on the acres of vacant land that currently exist. MAS believes that steps should be taken to protect the historic buildings that remain at Coney, including those that are threatened by demolition this summer.

On Tuesday May 11 State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower issued a decision rejecting grassroots activist group Save Coney Island’s lawsuit seeking to overturn the rezoning of Coney Island. In response to this decision, Save Coney Island issued the following statement:

Save Coney Island is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to restoring Coney Island as a world-class amusement destination — the Playground of the World.

Last November, we filed a lawsuit to prevent the implementation of a rezoning plan that would make this goal impossible to achieve by permanently shrinking Coney Island’s outdoor amusement area and blocking it off with a wall of high-rise buildings.

We are disappointed with Judge Rakower’s decision rejecting our claim. We continue to believe that the environmental review failed to adequately explore the impact of 27-story high-rise buildings along the South Side of Surf Avenue, among other issues.

However, our lawsuit was a means to an end: to prevent Coney Island’s extraordinary potential from being lost so that a truly successful revitalization can occur. We will continue to aggressively fight for this goal through every mechanism possible.

Over the last few weeks Save Coney Island volunteers, working with other groups, have pushed for the preservation of several historic buildings now threatened with demolition by Thor Equities; written a paper titled “Completing Coney’s Comeback” published by a leading New York think-tank that listed the short-term steps the city and other stakeholders can take to ensure a successful summer of 2010; and much more.

While this week’s court decision was a setback, our committed team of volunteers and supporters from across the city will continue these and other efforts to push for the successful revitalization of Coney Island — and keep the dream of its return as a 21st century “Playground of the World” alive.

The attorney representing Save Coney Island in this case, Albert K. Butzel, issued the following statement:

Needless to say, my clients and I are disappointed by the Judge’s decision.  We appreciate the fact that she struggled with the issues and did not treat the case lightly.   However, I believe the Judge was mistaken in her conclusion that the City was not required to consider the very specific alternative originally developed by the Municipal Art Society which concluded that 24 acres of dedicated amusement area were required to reestablish and make economically feasible a Coney Island approaching its past glory.  If the City is not required to evaluate the only alternative that was put forward by experts in the field, but rather has the discretion to ignore it, then the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act regarding the study of alternatives are now meaningless.

I also believe the Judge was mistaken in her conclusions regarding the visual impacts of new hotels that will block views into the amusement area and to the ocean.  Unfortunately, the decision makes it possible for an EIS to offer any explanation it wants, with no expert backing, and the courts are prepared, or even required, to take the explanations at face value.