TV's Weatherman Is Ringmaster In Coney Island

From the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus and their Coney Island Boom-A-Ring comes TV's weatherman as Ringmaster for one night.

AUTHOR + EMMY AWARD-WINNING WEATHERMANBILL EVANS TO SERVE AS GUEST RINGMASTERFOR THE CONEY ISLAND BOOM A RING

Will Also Sign Autographs -- It All Happens Friday July 31

WHO: Bill Evans, ABC-7 meteorologist, five-time Emmy award-winner and co-author of Category 7 and the brand-new Frozen Fire.

WHAT: Bill will be serving as Guest Ringmaster for the 7:00 p.m. performance of The Coney Island BOOM A RING on Friday, July 31. He will also be meeting audience members and signing autographs one hour before showtime.

WHEN: Friday, July 31 @6:00p.m.

WHERE: At the corner of 21st Street and Surf Avenue in Coney Island.WHY: Because Bill Evans knows what's HOT -- and both The Coney Island BOOM A RING and his newest book make for great summer entertainment!

Coney Island On CNN: Kitsch Vs. Cash

CNN's Wolf Blitzer in the 'Situation Room' ran a short segment on the new Mayor's plan for a Coney Island redevelopment.

The Mayor's plan which promises to revitalize the decayed, yet still thriving, Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York - by creating thousands of new permanent jobs and and improved infrastructure to the area - carries a major flaw in it that would change what Coney Island has been for over a century. A place of uniqueness, oddities, and merriment. The plan calls for four high-rise hotels that would create a cut off to the beach while shrinking out-door amusements.

The Mayor's plan, which passed affirmatively by the NY City Council this past Wednesday, July 29th, still faces many obstacles; with a big developer, the bad economy, and the hotel and amusement corporations which will not find their investment feasible.

Large hotels don't make sense for a small amusement area that could be covered in one afternoon. Neither would an indoor water park that may suffer during the summer seasons.

Unless the city's plan is once again revised, their wishes will never materialize and Mayor Bloomberg will not be able to pin a medal to his legacy with Coney Island.

(NOTE: Appoligies for not catching the first two sentences reported by Wolf Blitzer)

Coney Island's Future...Prognosis Negative

Today marks another fatal day in Coney Island's timeline. The city, once again, gives Coney another devastating blow to its existence.

As they have done in the past, the city has either aided developers and politicians into severly debilitating Coney's thriving uniqueness and allowing it to die every time a bit more. From killing off sections of it to fill with low-income housing with eye-sore architecture, to having no respect for iconic structures, to changing it only to emulate every-where-else America with corporate retail-style entertainment and mall-like amusements.


Today, the New York City Council will either kill or not kill Coney Island by voting in favor of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan, which originally, seemed like the best plan for protecting Coney Island's amusements and its future, but has later been added with a major flaw. Prosed high-rises south of Surf Avenue which would shrink the open-air amusements in Coney to a mere strip of 9 to 12 acres along the boardwalk is not right for Coney Island.


The plan's flaw, which has been argued and rallied against by Coney activists, has gone ignored by city officials without remorse.

The plan calls for four large hotels that simply don't make sense. The hotels in the plan look like a ploy for something else. As city councilman and Mayoral candidate Tony Avella recently pointed out in an interview with Brian Lehrer, calling this part of the plan a, "house of cards." And it just as well may be that. Who in their right mind will expect large hotels to be needed for a small amusement area. How feasible is it that a hotel corporation is going to build a high-rise hotel here? Before any analysis is done they simply will not commit. The city is not in going to build it themselves are they?


It's true that the new Coney Island should be year-round and not only be consisted of open-air amusements. And it does make sense for Surf Avenue to be a main thoroughfare with buildings on both sides. But those buildings should not be high-rises. They should be no more than four to five stories high. A couple of boutique hotels and bed-and-breakfast suites with plenty of themed flavor sounds like a much better fit. And of course, bustling with everything else Coney has always offered in the past and more.


City officials throw around the words 'indoor amusements' and then only give us bowling alleys, movie theaters, and an indoor water park. There are plenty of rides and attractions that could be uniquely created for Coney Island that would suit the place much better than things you get around town anywhere else.


The city needs to keep in mind Coney Island's criteria. One that has been lost along the way many years ago. Coney Island is not just carnival attractions brought in from elsewhere. When Coney really thrived it was unique. You didn't find these things anywhere else. Coney requires dreamers. The city needs to protect the space and have others with creative thinking caps come in and devise the plan. The city is not equipped for doing this. This is like asking lawyers to get on stage and do Shakespeare. Sure in Coney's glory business men created those parks but they came to Coney with their dreams and imagination in front of their business mentality.


The plan is voted on this afternoon. But let's not worry about it. The city's flaw in their plan will not be executed. There are too many obstacles in front of them and the flaw itself will create the stumbling block in the plan having it buckle under itself, the way it stands. With our economy still in a hole, the city will find themselves yet again modifying their plan. The city still faces a challenge with Thor Equities who owns at least half of what the city needs to accomplish their plan.


The city has also to be clearer on what their interim plan is while their master plan or changes in this master plan take place, in the next few years. They also need to deal with Thor Equities and put a stop to his bad amusement decision making. Inflatables, active empty lots like his flea market, and late season starters, are not right for Coney. He has already admitted to leaving for the right price which proves that he still is the speculator and cut-and-run-with-a-profit, leaving-your-smoke-and-mirrors-behind kind of man.


With a plan that will not work, how is it going to help the residents of Coney Island? The local residents and the labor movements need to also see through this flaw.


And last but not least, the city needs to start doing what is right for the people and not what is right for Bloomberg's third term and legacy. The house of cards needs to be kicked down and rebuilt with what's right for Coney.

Save Coney Island Image Slideshow

Here's a great set of pictures from yesterday's 'last' Save Coney Island rally that took place at the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall as well as other past Save Coney Island demonstrations. View the new Flickr group "Save Coney Island and Save the People's Play Ground" in this slideshow.

Show Of 'Force' At Coney Island Brooklyn Rally

Images courtesy of Thunderbolt Kin (Coney Island USA message board)

The crowd at Brooklyn Borough Hall gave their best shout, but unfortunately, that crowd seemed smaller in numbers than at City Hall. Is is why the city is ignoring pleas to change their plans? Are activists for open-air amusements simply too small? We don't think so, but it's sad that most Americans are simply too lazy to gather in numbers for a cause.

More Thunderbolt Kin images at the CIUSA forum.


Here's a short news video by CBS on the rally yesterday.

Last Save Coney Island Rally

19th Annual Coney Island Sand Sculpting Contest Images

When it comes to seeing these sand creations, images speak louder than words. Here are images of the 19th Annual Coney Island Sand Sculpting Contest by www.RodelOiga.com on Flickr.com.

Make Some Noise Coney Folks....For The Biggest 'Save Coney' Rally Ever!

It's the final Save Coney Island rally before the whole city council goes to vote to kill Coney Island as we've always known it. The subcommittee has already voted in favor of Mayor Bloomberg's plan without addressing its major flaw to shrink the open-air amusements to place large high-rise hotels within the same zone.....A MAJOR OXYMORON on the part of the city. They claim thousand of new jobs for the community which include hotel jobs in hotels that will not be filled with tourists to come and stay over for a stroll around a small strip of amusements.

The real intent of the city's plan is merely for big business at the expense of the people. The people who loved Coney Island for its beach sand and water, beach food, and beach fun and amusements. If you want a Miami Bay Side, or another South Street Seaport without the ships then you'll be happy with the Mayor's plan. If you love Coney for it's world-wide charm and want to have that charm revived, this plan, the way it stands is not what you want.

We urge you go act like true New Yorkers and get out there to the Brooklyn Borough Hall this Sunday and make a really big big noise.

Here's the info from the 'Save Coney Island' group:

RALLY TO SAVE CONEY ISLAND (SUNDAY, 7/26)

New York, N.Y. — Grassroots activist group Save Coney Island is holding a
MASS RALLY in the plaza in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall this Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (7/26) urging the City to either FIX or KILL its badly flawed Coney Island rezoning plan.

The City Council is scheduled to vote this coming Wednesday on a plan that would permanently shrink Coney Island’s famed amusement district, create a wall of four huge high-rises — up to 27 stories tall — in its very heart,and encourage developers to tear down Coney Island’s historic buildings.

This rally is the LAST CHANCE for members of the public to make their voices heard on this awful rezoning plan.

WHAT: Rally to Save Coney Island
WHEN: Sunday July 26, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Columbus Park, by the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall