New Release Of A Thor Sitt Dream

Once again, it seems that Thor Equities is going with the flow and cautiously releasing yet another glimpse into their proposed redevelopment. Since retracting the drawings from the Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn (EE&K) Architects website this summer this has been the third time they give us a release of cluttered renderings. (Aside from the un-detailed high-rise blue-colored hotel drawings that were also retracted this summer.)

Perhaps Thor is paying attention to all the comments and rantings on bulletin boards and blogs in retort to their drawings because with each announcement they come closer to reflect what people are hoping for - which could be a positive sign. Since the last release, Coney locals and buffs have been shouting for more amusements. And just last week the CIUSA bulletin board comments were declaring a more desperate need for a big rollercoaster – one that could be incorporated into the design of whatever is built at the coasters base. So, now Thor throws in a generic roller coaster and promises the traditional Coney aesthetics combined with a modern take. Yet, the drawings still seem to be rehashing the same futuristic glam-rock glitzy vision.

And like it or not they are underlining the need for the residential structures and the high-rise hotels by stating that; including them are the only ways to assure revenues for the project because amusements do not generate enough money and are too seasonal. Though this is true, what most people want to see is a bit of that old traditional Conyesque architecture finally thrown into the mix. And also a bit more concrete clarity in the next designs. These renderings are too busy and in fact have an over-the-top Vegas feel or a Salvador Dali hangover- as if they are meant to confuse and stall for answers.

Again - as of yet it looks like Thor and company still do not have a concrete vision and merely improvising and presenting to us a muddled and vague colored sketching of a Sitt dream as he rolls out of bed before grabbing his coffee and heading to Thor headquarters.

A $1.5 Billion Vision For Coney Island [NYSun]

New Coney Plans: Play Up the Coaster, Downplay the High Rises [Gowanus Lounge]

Here's Coney Island v 2.1 [Curbed]

Travel Time: Freedomland 1963

"Freedomland U.S.A. (usually just called Freedomland) was a short-lived, themed amusement park in the Baychester area in the northeastern part of the Borough of The Bronx, New York City. Its slogan was "The World's Largest Entertainment Center"

Conversations... with Dick Zigun

J. Dee Hill, a journalist and author of Freaks & Fire: The Underground Reinvention of Circus recently spoke with CIUSA's Dick Zigun as part of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).

Zigun, who is a 1985 NYFA Artists’ Fellowship winner in the category of Playwriting/Screenwriting, talks about his involvement with the sideshows and briefly mentions the current issues around Coney's changes.

Zigun: "Real estate in Coney Island has taken off over the last few years, tripled in price. Half the property has changed hands. And I’ve got a big smile on my face because the New York City leadership has put money in the city budget for us to buy real estate so we can go from being renters to being owners. We’re deliberately expanding our board, expanding our staff. We’re doubling the size of our budget. There is a plan to institutionalize the programs, so that the things I and other people have set in motion will outlive us. It’s satisfying to know that despite the neighborhood changes and the demographic changes we will really create something here to perpetuate certain art forms. New York is the cultural capital of the world, and if you are going to seriously make a national statement about American popular culture, Coney Island oddly enough turned out to be a smart place to base it. It works here, it belongs here, the history is here."

'Conversations... with Dick Zigun' by J. Dee Hill [NYFA Interactive]

Totonno’s Claims Original "Brooklyn Style Pizza" Title

According to owner Louise Ciminieri of Totonno’s Pizza in Coney Island, thier pizza is what's reffered to as 'Brooklyn Style'. "We're the first ones", she says, when being compared to a new 'Brooklyn-style' pizza from Domino's. Domino's has launched a new marketing ad campaign along with a couple of contests and a website depicting stero-typical Brooklyn characters.

The New York Times reports: "As part of the marketing of that culture, Domino’s has started a couple of contests. One is a drawing for a vintage New York taxi, even though everyone knows it’s almost impossible to hail a cab in Brooklyn. The rest of the marketing blitz rests on television ads and on a Web site, www.brooklynstylepizza.com, which features characters purchased at the Brooklyn Stereotype Store"........"Domino’s uses its standard sauce and a blend of mozzarella and provolone on the Brooklyn Style Pizza. At most slice stores in Brooklyn, you won’t find cornmeal on the crust, and the cheese is usually a blend of shredded part skim and whole milk mozzarella. The typical sauce is usually not as sweet as Domino’s, but it doesn’t compare with Totonno’s.
Totonno’s uses unadulterated tomato sauce and thin slices of fresh mozzarella hand-pulled with just a little salt in it, and a dusting of pecorino-Romano cheese."......"Mr. Markowitz has yet to taste the Domino’s pizza. But that didn’t stop him from offering an opinion: “To our sophisticated palates, Domino’s is about as Brooklyn as Sara Lee Cheesecake is Junior’s.”

‘Brooklyn Style Pizza’ Meets the Real Deal [NYTimes]

Video HOOPLA !

A Flash Back to the 2006 Coney Island Mermaid Parade (10:28)

other videos:
A look back at Easter weekend '06 in Coney Island (4:42) [iFilm]

The Letterman Giant Pumpkin Blow Up (2:11) [YouTube]

BROOKLYN SONG (3:41) [YouTube]

21-Story Glass Tower To Rise Across the Aquarium

It sure looks like development in the south end of Brooklyn is beginning to catch up with its north-end counterpart. Since the residential Oceana condominiums on Brighton Beach and all the other condos that have sprung up on Emmons Avenue, there hasn't been much activity besides a lot of mystery and vague promises along the amusement area which just now seems to be starting to simmer. Yet nothing at the height of this 21-story glass tower at 271 Sea Breeze Avenue.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (found via WiredNewYork & CIUSA board) reported a few days ago that the Bobker Group along with several partners, plans to construct this 85-unit condominium tower on a vacant lot adjacent to Asser Levy / SeaSide park which sits across the street from the New York Aquarium. (The partners include: The Bobker Group’s partners include Perry M. Finkelman, CEO of American Development Group; and Mark Engel, CEO of Langsam Property Services Corp) Architect Michael Even of EM Design Group, based in Manhattan, is designing the project.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports:

with its location in the predominantly-Russian area of Brooklyn, the development will be called The Sochi after the famous Russian resort city on the Black Sea, known as “the summer capital of Russia.” Brighton’s Sochi will offer unobstructed views of the Atlantic Ocean. That is because the New York Aquarium is across the street between the high-rise site and the beach.The units will range from one-bedroom to three-bedrooms plus there will be several duplex penthouses. Amenities will include high-end imported finishes, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, secured parking, and a lifestyle-enhancing health club to include tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool and a fitness center.The Bobker Group is currently developing over 500,000 square feet of residential condominium projects in the city, including the Morgan Lofts, an $80 million project at 36th and 5th in Manhattan; 127 Twin Tower condominiums in White Plains; and a 42- unit development in Gravesend, Brooklyn, adjacent to the prominent Syrian Jewish community, in conjunction with well-known Russian general contractor Joe Klaynberg from Wonderworks.This new site is a large through-lot (to Brighton Avenue) that is 21,720 square feet and measures approximately 150 feet by 145 feet. It is zoned for residential use.The June sale was reported at $13.8 million by propertyshark.com.

Brighton Beach to Get Modern High-Rise [WiredNewYork]

Aquarium Model & More Renderings Presented

Design proposals for the New York Aquarium at Coney Island - Master Plan by Enric Ruiz Geli that were submitted to the Wildlife Conservation Society for consideration has now created a physical model. (pictured above) The model and new renderings, posted on Curbed, seems like a not-so-distant cousin from the dreamlike extravagant conceptions proposed by Thor for the property they own in Coney's amusement area. (If you notice what holds up this array of mesh in the Aquarium model are other mini-parachute-jumpesque pillars. You need to see the web site and view the moving pan of the model to see them)

Somehow, the Aquarium can be spared for an extreme makeover because the renderings for it have been received positively. The opposite of how people are feeling for the Thor plans. Perhaps that's because the Aquarium really isn't part of Coney's long history.

In addition to the clip panning the model you can see the clip from Coney Island at night in 1905 by Edwin S. Porterfor Edison Manufacturing Company Co.

Aquarium Design Proposal [ruiz-geli.com]
More Coney Island Aquarium Redo Renderings [Curbed]
The Country’s Oldest Aquarium To Get a 21st Century Whale of a Makeover [Kinetic Carnival]

The Washing Away of Coney

"A new computer model using data collected from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Hurricane Center reveals a substantial rise in sea levels during the next century caused by global warming, combined with a hurricane, combined with a hurricane, and New Yorkers could kiss Coney Island goodbye."

This according to a Chinese news agency called Xinhua (xinhuanet.com). The article was found on a blog called Weather News via Gowanus Lounge who posted it Wednesday. Xinchua adds, "Sea level around the city could climb 15 to 19 inches by 2050 and by more than three feet by 2080, according to the model."

In her blog Weather News, Elaine Meinel Supkis writes: "Weather News states, "I lived in Coney Island many years ago. I went to the beach every day, especially in winter. Went through hurricanes and blizzards. And I watched the beaches rapidly disappear. It was plainly obvious that something big was happening to the earth."

Coney Island Going Under Water According To Scientists [Weather News]

Global warming + hurricane = goodbye Coney Island [China News - Xinhua]

Riding the HOOPLA!

Photo by rsguskind - Flickr.com

Stories:
CITY BOOST FOR A 'GLITZY' CONEY [NYPost]
Coney gets Goofy with act [Daily News]
VEGAS STEPS RIGHT UP City is a lot like old Coney Island, archivist finds [Review Journal]
Japanese Champ Eats 97 Burgers in 8 Min. [NY News Day]


Images:
outside coney island [photobotic]
entering coney island [Waguyver]

Thor Dishes Out A Rehash!

These new served up renderings by Thor Equities seems like some lesser quality rejects which were not part of the small collection that was displayed this summer. And now, simply rehashed in light of the negative press.

Or perhaps a limited job of redesigning with not much to offer. With one of the cluttered drawings released in time for our Halloween spirits, a pumpkin on a witchy mermaid’s bum towers over those miniature parachute jumps that seem to be the recurring theme, here. With the other rendering a giant whale hologram seems to be a throwback to what we saw a few weeks ago in one of the Aquarium competing drawings.

The New York Post which obtained the drawings from Thor Equities writes: "Stillwell Avenue becomes a fantasy-filled boulevard marked by larger-than-life street furniture, such as a mermaid swimming in a martini glass and a gigantic tattooed elephant."

And Gowanus Lounge, which always has an interesting angle on things, explains: "We're not sure what that tall glass looking thing is, although the elephant (shades of an earlier era and Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ) is a nice touch. (It's small, but do you notice the Halloween touch on the mermaid's rear end in the top rendering?) The description of Bowery Street as "a permanent festival and sideshow area" is encouraging. The five-year construction timeframe is sobering, to say the least. Interesting that they surface now after some of the bad press Thor got last week for the early evictions of current tenants."

With the hopes of building a $1.5 billion year-round entertainment destination, Thor Equities has purchased 10 acres of boardwalk land. However, the project is still awaiting city approval, but the company hopes to begin construction in about 18 months and have it completed in about five years.

Related:
NEW-WAVE CONEY Beach Bum to Surf City [NYPost]
Coney Island Death Watch Halloween Edition: New Renderings [Gowanus Lounge]
The Coney Island Vision We Couldn't Make Up [Curbed]

Related HOOPLA!

photo by pea. - Flickr.com

A slight error on the map that was posted here outlining the Thor properties was brought to our attention by a Coney-Isle-O-Phile who goes by the name of Thor-Hater, a business operator in Coney and also a frequent commentator on the Coney Island USA bulletin boards, which is in fact where KC first learned about the Thor tenants being given 'eviction' notices.

Also, to correct a misstatement in the Gothamist web site:
Kinetic Carnival did not speak with Mr. Dick Zigun. Zigun was replying to Thor-Hater on the CIUSA board.

map correction:
Thor does not own the building on the corner of W.12th & Surf Ave housing the Coney Island USA to the Surf Express car service.

Related links:
Coney developers forcing out rides, games, shops [Daily News]
New Home for Coney Island Sideshow and Museum? [Gowanus Lounge]
Rides, Games and Shops Being Forced Out of Coney Island [MetaDish]
Developer Starting to Empty Out Its Coney Properties? [Gowanus Lounge]
Some Coney Island Rides Won't See Another Summer [Gothamist]
NEW LIFE FOR CONEY I. FAVES

[NYP]
Coney Island Death Watch: Brand New Wednesday Evictions [Gowanus Lounge]
Coney Island Clean Out Starting? [Curbed]

Other links:
Coney Forced to Hold Its Water As City Makes Big Promises [Courier Life]
The Other Coney Island [runs/brooklyn]

Images:
Color the Sky with You
Haunted by Coney Island [AutoBiographical Digitizer]
Balloon~mA, cAN WE gO Ta cONeY IsLAnD?

Media:

ABC reporter went to Coney Island to interview Thor tenants

click to view

Thor begins to stomp out development foot print on Coney

First structure to possibly go to make way for the new Coney is the Henderson building on the corner of Stillwell Ave./Henderson Walk & Surf Ave to the Bowery. The property now owned by Thor Equities, which as early as last week assured their tenants not to worry about being evicted for the next year has now turned around and handed most of its tenants a 90 day notice to vacate the premises.

[photo by betty blade - Flickr.com]

Speculation had it that the building was structurally unsound and must be taken down. But Dick Zigun, of Coney Island U.S.A. and on the board of directors at CIDC, Coney Island Development Corporation has confirmed and said, “Bringing in a structural engineer or the Buildings Department to certify that Henderson's might be in bad shape would obviously be a strong arm tactic to negotiate a sooner rather than later vacancy by tenants in Henderson's who do have leases such as Popeyes.” But, he adds, “...all in all this seems to be more about a general emptying of newly acquired properties of tenants rather than a specific issue with the structural integrity of Henderson's building.

For the sake of accuracy, I have been told that Thor's tenants on the Boardwalk including Ruby's and Cha-Cha's and Ocean Grill House were not given notice. And Norman Kaufman says he was not given any notice for his miniature golf or batting cage or go-karts.”

With that, Zigun confirms that Thor has given notice to most of their newly acquired tenants in the Henderson's building and beyond! Those include owner and operator of the Zipper and Spider rides on West 12th, McCullough's Kiddie Park at Bowery & West 12th, Caesar's games on the Bowery, and Slim who operates Balloon Racing game on the Bowery.

[photo by jessrawk - Flickr.com]
Regardless, of who has been given notices as of yet. This is just the beginning of Thor clearing its land up for the zone that will mark the first construction site towards the revitalization of the New Coney.

During the last year Zigun and his organization attempted to save the Henderson’s Building as well as other structures in the amusement area by nominating them for landmark status with the Landmark Preservations Society.

The building, known as the Old Henderson Dance Hall on Stillwell has hosted fleabag hotels (Surf Hotel) and amusements and a night club (Velocity)

Zigun laments, “Although this all breaks my heart...it is not unexpected. If tenants are seasonal and do not have leases...and if Thor is the new owner of property then they have a right under the American system of capitalism and private property to do this. If they are going to build something new then we all know they have to demolish what is old and not land-marked. Let us not be naive and admit that this is what is coming to some of old Coney Island whether for summer of 2007 or 2008".

Coney Island Book - Past and Present

Originally posted on the Gowanus Lounge blog where they were invited to download the book from its author - this 152-page book rummages through history and old stories about Coney Island. It is a rare glimpse into photos and a different prospective on Coney’s history.

Through his journey in the book, Author Professor Solomon meets with old timers, searches for antiques, and shares his personal accounts of his childhood memories of Coney and what he felt was a huge change for the worse as he revisited the fabled site years later.


Fun Find: Free PDF of Coney Island Book [Gowanus Lounge]

Coney Island - Past and Present

by Professor Solomon

152 pages. Illustrated.
Free download of entire book: coneyisland.pdf (41.2 MB file)
Paperback Edition available from Amazon.com.

CREEP SHOW AT THE FREAK SHOW

Seems as though all the recent activity in Coney has been happening at Coney Island U.S.A.
And it's not over yet! This weekend:
THE PIRATES OF CONEY ISLAND Starts!!!!!!
Avast! This year's Creepshow at the Freakshow is more lavish and frightening than ever! Come see "Pirates of Coney Island”, a guided tour of Coney Island’s newest immersive entertainment experience... presented by the briny magnate of amusements himself, Dead Disney!

Sideshows by the Seashore
3006 W. 12th St. @ Surf Ave.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22
And all week October 25-31
Shows run continuously from 7 to 11 PM
Tickets $8 for Adults, $5 for kids under 12

Film Festival Photo Gallery

Check out the pictures of the this year's event

Coney Island Film Festival 2006 AWARD WINNERS

BEST FEATURE:
" Pervert!" - Jonathan Yudis. South Pasadena, CA USA, Feature 01:24:00 Sex. Death. Freedom. These three ingredients combine to create an orgiastic homage to the outrageous -- perhaps the most outrageous movie ever to be committed to celluloid -- Pervert!

BEST SHORT:
"The Day of the Grackle" - Michael Berry. Los Angeles, CA USA, Short 00:14:50 A mild-mannered man's world is invaded by a ferocious, territorial bird, thrusting him into an escalating, action-filled battle that inadvertently transforms his life into something far beyond his dreams.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

" Holes In My Shoes" - David Wachs. United Kingdom, Documentary Feature 01:30:00 94-year-old New Yorker Jack Beers, has broken the age barrier full force!

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
"Messenger" - Gary Beeber. Sag Harbor, NY USA, Documentary Short 00:27:52 We follow Kamikaze (the legendary bicycle messenger, and world-class character) for one year as he works the gritty streets of Manhattan. Kamikaze, who just turned 50 has worked as a biker in NYC for over 25 years.



BEST EXPERIMENTAL:
" I Live In Brooklyn" - Bombonia Bombonia. Brooklyn, NY USA, Documentary Short 00:06:20 The arrival of an alien to NYC.

BEST ANIMATION:

"Guide Dog" - Bill Plympton. New York, NY USA, Animation 00:05:15 'Guide Dog' is a sequel to the Oscar nominated short 'Guard Dog'. This time our hero dog helps blind people with typical disastrous results.

BEST "MADE IN CONEY" SHORT:

" I Wonder" - Chris DePierro & Amanda Jencsiks. Fort Lee, NJ USA, Short 00:05:30Based on a true story. Amy visits Coney Island in search of precious childhood moments that she shared with her now deceased father; but can she let go of past regrets and leave with the memory of a lifetime?



The Coney Island Film Festival thanks you for making this our most successful
festival ever! Photo gallery coming soon!

Dunking The Nets Into Coney

The local community organization opposed to the location of the Nets basketball arena in Prospect Heights as part of the Atlantic Yards Project - Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is making the case about having Prospect Heights be spared of the Nets arena and letting Coney deal with another sports complex to the already diminishing amusement district.

In a study by urban planner Simon Bertrang on behalf of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Bertrang sets out to prove the failure in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) issued by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) for determining the Prospect Heights site as the most feasible site for the arena by ignoring two out of three studies conducted three decades apart. The last two which designates Coney as the most suited site for the arena.

In the Bertrang study he goes on to mention the following:
There is NO evidence or argument made in the DEIS as to why an arena should be located at FCRC/ESDC’s chosen Prospect Heights location or why a proposed Brooklyn arena must be developed in conjunction with a major residential development. ESDC has made a gross error by ignoring the results of the 1984 and 1994 studies that found Coney Island to be the best site in the borough for a multi-use arena.

The two Coney sites mentioned in the last two studies are the “Gateway site” owned by KeySpan Energy and the “Waterfront site” adjacent to Keyspan which holds two possible positions there. First being right over the parking lot of Abe Stark Rink or slightly off to the west which are part privately-owned underutilized parcels and would require acquisition. In addition the rink would have to be demolished.
The “Gateway site” seems no longer the ideal site due to the fact that it would require easier access from the belt and a pedestrian bridge to cross the creek. Plus it would be tucked further away from the bustle of Coney’s waterfront. Who says Neptune Avenue can’t be part of Coney’s revitalization. Neptune Avenue has been neglected. One can envision Neptune with office buildings and even museums.

Other issues the studies debate are the transportation centers of both Stillwell Station and hub at Atlantic Terminal

Bertrang writes:

The Coney Island subway lines have low existing passenger loads and substantial reserve capacities. In addition, the Stillwell Avenue station is a newly renovated jewel – with wide ramps and platforms designed to handle a surge in crowds and efficient vertical movement from platform to street. The Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street station on the other hand has no reserve capacity – the platforms and trains are overcrowded, the platforms narrow and the maze of underground corridors connecting the various platforms confusing. If mass transit’s capacity to absorb new riders, especially the kind of surge in riders associated with the beginning or end of an NBA game in New York City, is taken into account, the Coney Island sites are far superior.

The Atlantic Yard Report

blog writes:
Moreover, an arena in Coney Island would help revitalize the area--indeed, the neighborhood still awaits major investment and refurbishing or replacement of vast public housing complexes. Bertrang suggests redevelopment in Prospect Heights "with appropriately scaled development" would be appropriate and welcomed. He adds:However, nothing in the economic development goals of the Prospect Heights neighborhood necessitates an arena - in fact, an arena may be a drag on the project – creating an infrastructure headache, requiring the expensive relocation of the rail yards, and necessitating the use of eminent domain and the delays associated with its application.Unmentioned here, or in the DEIS, is one of the main reasons for the arena: to leverage state and city funds, and political support, for a much larger development project. As the Slatin Report last month

quoted a pro-development city official:The arena, the official complained, is a "Trojan Horse" that the developer used to sneak an overly dense project into Brooklyn.

All in all many agree that the Nets arena should be housed in Coney Island. But with proposed high-end retail, luxury hotels, and more residential buildings - let’s be careful not to eradicate, almost completely, what Coney has meant since the days of Sodom by the Sea and that is the fervor of its amusement district.

An arena in Coney? DEIS ignores the most recent studies [Atlantic Yards Report]

Report on Three Deades of Locational Analysis for a Brooklyn Arena [DDB Study]

Highlights For Last Day Of The CI Film Festival

FOR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8th

Coney Island Film Festival special event:

BOARDWALK

The Coney Island Film Festival is delighted to present the first public screening in 27 years of Stephen Verona's BOARDWALK. Don't miss your opportunity finally to see this classic Brooklyn film! Director Stephen Verona will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.

SYNOPSIS: David Rosen and his wife Becky have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut has decided to make it his new turf.

FROM THE DIRECTOR: "In 1979 I made a film in Brighton Beach and Coney Island titled "BOARDWALK" - It starred Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg and Janet Leigh. It was photographed by Billy Williams (GANDHI and ON GOLDEN POND). It was a runaway success at the Cannes Film festival. We entered into a distribution agreement with Atlantic Releasing. The film opened December 1979. In a week the distributor had gone bankrupt, no fault of our film... Since then the film has languished in bankruptcy court and various film libraries. No one has seen it."

(For more see the festival program page)

Sunday Oct. 8th, 1:30pm
Sideshows by the Seashore, 3006 W.12th St. @ Surf Ave.
Tickets are $6.00.



CREATING KARMA
Jill Wisoff, New York NY USA, Feature 01:44:00Karma, up-tight columnist at Bangles Magazine, becomes a poet after moving in with her loathed half-sister, a new age therapist; thrown into the mix is her British sixties 'it girl' mother; their father's lover, a pop star sitarist; and the love interest, an inappropriate guy who talks to an obnoxious puppet.

(For more see the festival program page)

Sunday Oct. 8th, 3pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Tickets are $6.00.




HOLES IN MY SHOES
David Wachs, United Kingdom, Documentary Feature 01:30:00 94-year-old New Yorker Jack Beers, has broken the age barrier full force! He can do what most young men can (and some!), and his many diverse lifetime achievements, helping to shape New York City and more, would take many men to accomplish. This is an inspiring, funny and moving film – a true rags to riches story, overcoming adversity

Jack Beers & director David Wachs will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening. Live music before and after the show by Margot Leverett & the Klezmer Mountain Boys.

(For more see the festival program page)


Sunday Oct. 8th, 5:30pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Ticket are $6.00 and go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime.



Also 3 full programs throughout the day of about 30 shorts films.

Plus: Special Event WALKING TOUR
Famous Coney Island film locations. Departs from the street level entrance of the Coney Island Museum at 4pm sharp!
Free with a ticket stub from any of our festival programs.

The film festival closes with the Awards Presentation!
FREE ADMISSION


Visit Coney Island Film Festival Web Site for more info.

Highlights For The CI Film Festival This Weekend

FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7th

MY LIFE AS AN UNDERDOG
PLUS "SOME DREAMS COME TRUE" and "THE STORY OF BUBBLEBOY"
Boris Gavrilovic Jersey City NJ USA Documentary Feature 01:23:30
Suzanne Muldowney wants to be a famous artist. For the past thirty years she has been taking her interpretive dances of the cartoon superhero “Underdog” to parades, community events and cable access television in an attempt to make her dream come true. Spanning over a course of seven years this film follows one strangely fascinating person's struggle to find the true meaning of life.
(For more see the festival program page)

Saturday Oct. 7th, 1pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Tickets are $6.00 go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime


AMERICAN STAG
PLUS "AVAILABLE MEN" and "SHUFFLE MODE"
Ben Meade, Lenexa KS USA, Documentary Feature 01:07:12
From the birth of cinema through the 1960s in the United States, most pornographic films were brief, black and white, anonymously produced films known as 'stag films', 'blue movies', or 'smokers,' so called because of the smoke-filled rooms where men would gather for private screenings.
(For more see the festival program page)


Saturday Oct. 7th, 5pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Tickets are $6.00 go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime.


PISSER
Matt Chertkoff & Jason Campbell, Weehawken NJ USA, Feature 00:94:00
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life ... that is unless you are John T. Piscatowski, aka "Pisser." As a second generation hot dog vendor, Pisser takes to the streets of New York City in pursuit of his dream of revolutionizing the industry by unionizing his fellow vendors, but the hot dog mafia has other plans. Fat Lenny, the head of the 'Hafia', unleases Luigi, an enforcer with a criminally low IQ
(For more see the festival program page)


Saturday Oct. 7th, 7pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Tickets are $6.00 go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime.


PERVERT!

PLUS! "THE THREAT FROM BEHIND"
Jonathan Yudis, South Pasadena CA USA, Feature 01:24:00
Sex. Death. Freedom.
These three ingredients combine to create an orgiastic homage to the outrageous -- perhaps the most outrageous movie ever to be committed to celluloid -- Pervert! A modern cult classic, Pervert was lovingly shot as an homage to the work of the late great Russ Meyer and is a cinematic ode and update to his filmic style.

(For more see the festival program page)

Saturday Oct. 7th, 9pm
Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W. 12th St.
Tickets are $6.00 go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime.



CONEY ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENT
THE WARRIORS

WARRIORS, COME OUT TO PLAAYY YAAAY.

You love Coney Island, you love the subway, you love expressionistic street gangs - in short you love THE WARRIORS, Walter Hill's 1979 action film classic. Show your love at this special screening which will be so much more than just the film that you already know by heart. You are a part of the film in this special interactive version: shout along with your favorite scenes, beware of roaming Furries in the audience, and join us in our Warriors Tough Talk competition. Plus, trivia and a subway challenge, with prizes awarded at the end of the show! CAN YOU DIG IT??

GANG COSTUMES ENCOURAGED!
(For more see the festival program page)

Saturday Oct. 7th, 10:30pm
Sideshows by the Seashore, 3006 W.12th St. @ Surf Ave.
Tickets are $10.00 and go on sale 30 minutes prior to showtime.
Advance purchase highly recommended. NO PASSES.

With 5 full programs throughout the day of more than 30 shorts films, including about nine featuring Coney Island itself. Plus: Kill Your Darlings: A Panel Discussion on Editing!

Visit Coney Island Film Festival Web Site for more info.

Highlights For The CI Film Festival Starting This Weekend

FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6th

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

Little Brooklyn photo by Amber De Vos. Serpentina photo courtesy of Coney Island USA

Our opening night parties are legendary, don't miss it! Join The Great Fredini (This or That!) for an astounding show featuring performances by Insectavora, Serpentina, Roc Roc It, Remy Vicious, Scott Baker, Little Brooklyn, Dottie Lux, Lady Satan, Balloonhedz with Mini Malicious, Bambi the Mermaid, Bunny Love & Fisherman ! 21 & over. Open bar.

This event is a benefit for Coney Island USA

Friday Oct. 6th, 9:30pm

Coney Island Musuem, 1208 Surf Ave. @ W.12th St.

Tickets to this event are $25 and include admission to our opening night screening American Carny: True Tales of the Circus Sideshow.

Advance purchase is highly recommended!

OPENING NIGHT SCREENING

AMERICAN CARNY:

True Tales of the Circus Sideshow

Photo by Norman Blake.

STEP RIGHT UP! and come on the inside -- Beyond the banners and into the morbid curiosity that is the American Sideshow. Join Carnival Maestro Todd Robbins and award-winning filmmaker, Nick Basile, on a journey into a world of circus freaks, fire eaters, human blockheads, magicians, contortionists, professional lunatics, and much, much more.In this in-depth documentary, you will travel the historic road of the American sideshow from the circus tents to the American Dime Museum in Baltimore, to the last 'ten-in-one sideshow' that exists today on Brooklyn's infamous Coney Island.

Friday Oct. 6th, 7:30pm

Sideshows by the Seashore

3006 W.12th St. @ Surf Ave.

Tickets for the opening night screening & party are $25.

Tickets for the screening only are $6.

Visit the Coney Island Film Festival Website for full week's program.

The Country’s Oldest Aquarium To Get a 21st Century Whale of a Makeover

Starting from its original home in lower Manhattan from 1896 to 1941 then to 1957 where it was moved to its 14 acre hiding place in Coney Island - the Wildlife Conservation owned and operated New York Aquarium is getting a 21st Century makeover. City officials yesterday unveiled three finalists in the competition to design a new exterior for the New York Aquarium

From its isolated fortress tucked snugly between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk the low-key aquarium could rise and show off a new whale-like structure well above the confinement it's been operating in all these years.

Of the new designs, by the firms WRT; Smith-Miller & Hawkinson Architects; and West 8 in collaboration with Weisz & Yoes Architecture, which city officials unveiled yesterday for the exterior of the aquarium - one replaces the concrete wall with an undulated wave fence, exposing the aquarium along with entrances at several points. And another design, by contrast, hides areas of the parking lot with manmade sand dunes cut through with looping pathways.

“It’s very important that people going to the aquarium have the experience of going to the beachfront again,” said Jerry van Eyck of West 8.

Included in one of the three designs of the competition which dictates in its guidelines to be another “beacon for Coney Island”, is a giant jelly fish resting on it’s tendrils.

Another rendering has one side of exterior structure interpreting its neighbor, the Cyclone roller coaster and the other a gigantic whale-like giant veil. The structure will surely be the kind of thing the new Coney Island will call and stand for.

“The aquarium is a critical anchor for Coney Island, especially if it's that much more physically integrated into Coney Island,” said, Mr. Sirefman, interim president of the development corporation. “People who come to a Cyclones game or to the amusements should be going to the aquarium.”

With the promised renaissance of Coney Island on the horizon , which will most likely come with some sort of hotel, high-end retail, and the ever-pressed mention of the indoor water park, the revitalization of Brooklyn’s new Riviera will be the year round destination the New Coney is meant to be.

City officials, community leaders, and the conservation society, expect to choose a final design this fall.

See more drawings from Weisz & Yoes Architecture

See flash page from Smith-Miller & Hawkinson Architects

Finalists in Aquarium’s Redesign [NYT]

More Coney Island Makeover: Aquarium Redesign [Curbed]

Proposed Redesigns for the New York Aquarium [Gothamist]

Aquarium Renovation is Cause for Celebration [Gowanus Lounge]

coney island memories

Another look at vintage Coney Island