It’s Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City vs. our very own and very new Beer Island? Which one has the better view? The best food? The best drink selection? Well, Water Taxi Beach wins on a lot of counts, but Beer Island (aka BI) has one thing going for it that WTB doesn’t: Coney […]

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There are many things we could say about this image from Coney Island and, in truth, we have seen it much worse. The less said, however, the better.

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We have to say that we weren’t the only people that stopped to stare at these ponies, which are chained up and part of a living “ride” in Coney Island. The five ponies and the ride are ostensibly part of a petting zoo set up on developer Joe Sitt’s property. Whether one considers the attraction […]

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Having gotten a good sense yesterday of what Coney Island will look like and feel like this season, several conclusions emerge: 1) Because developer Joe Sitt has put property that was allowed to sit empty last year back into service, Coney will have more businesses operating this year and, possibly, than it has had in […]

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Who knew that Coney Island would be the site of Beer Island this summer? Beer Island…we love the way it rolls off the tongue…might best be described as a little bit of Water Taxi Beach, but without the East River and in Coney Island. We’re predicting big things for it this summer. It’s an expanse […]

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There’s another public scoping meeting coming up for the Draft Scope of Work for the “modified rezoning project” for Coney Island. This is because there’s a revised Environmental Assessment Statement based on the change in size of the city’s “parkland” for an amusement park from 15 acres to 9 acres. The session will be held […]

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Last summer we were writing about the plywood that developer Joe Sitt was applying to the windows of property that he owns in Coney Island, including the old Shore Hotel. Yesterday, we found that the plywood has been painted yellow and red. There are two reactions that one can have: (A). Plywood is plywood and […]

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The new rides in “Reithoffer’s Playland,” the temporary amusements on land owned by developer Joe Sitt, were in full swing this weekend, adding entertainment options to the Coney landscape. A number of the rides duplicate existing offerings, and the lot, which is not paved, had a bit of a dust bowl feel in yesterday’s high […]

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[Photo Courtesy of Capt_Nemo/Coney Island Message Board] This is what would appear to be Coney Island’s version of Water Taxi Beach, except that it is Beer Island, featuring beer, wine, food and entertainment. This is the property was a miniature golf course before it was demolished by developer Joe Sitt. Last summer, it was home […]

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“The mystery surfer who saved a Brooklyn man from drowning is a humble hero who would rather sail off into the sunset than step into the limelight, his relatives said Saturday. Kevin Campion, a 30-year-old ship’s captain from Seattle, doesn’t mind if his lifesaving deed goes unrewarded, they said.”–NYDN

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[Photo courtesy of craizdgoat/flickr] The “Reithoffer’s Playland” temporary carnival rides are up and operating on land owned by developer Joe Sitt (that was cleared of attractions in the winter of 2006-07). They will be removed in a couple of weeks and replaced by a smaller number of temporary rides and attractions.

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Here’s that infectious tune, Save Coney Island, as sung at Thursday’s boardwalk protest by Amos Wengler.

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[Photo courtesy of Adrian Kinloch] Here’s another photo of Coney Island Creek, which is sort of like the Gowanus Canal or Newtown Creek of Coney, which is to say that it faces a lot of environmental challenges, but is also amazingly resilient. (This is a gorgeous natural contrast to the ruins in our In the […]

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Here’s a clip from the YouTube of Rev. Billy speaking at the Coney Island demonstration on Thursday. Remember, “Strippers, Not Strip Malls.”

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[Photo courtesy of lornagrl/flickr] This is the visually interesting Coney Island Creek with its collection of rotting ship and boat carcasses against the Coney Island skyline. It comes to our GL Photo Pool via the prolific lornagrl, who has posted a full photoset of excellent pics of the Creek. Check ’em out.

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[Photo courtesy of Silversalty/flickr] These are some of the temporary carnival rides that have gone up in Coney Island on property owned by developer Joe Sitt. The photographer writes, “It was a little strange to see what looked like a small town carnival being set up in one of the bigger lots in Coney Island.”

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[Image courtesy of The Weblicist of Manhattan] There was an interesting scene on the Coney Boardwalk yesterday, as city officials held the official opening of beach season in weather more suited to early Spring than the coming summer. In the background, about three dozen noisy and colorful demonstrators, including Diana Carlin of the Lola Staar […]

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We bring back our old Brooklyn Back in the Day series for this cool, cool photo of the Coney Island Boardwalk and Childs Restaurant a long time ago. The full size photo is worth looking at and it was uploaded to flickr by blackoutny. It’s especially fascinating to see some of the buildings that once […]

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Unlike Coney’s real gazebos, one of which collapsed on itself this winter, the ones in Grand Theft Auto IV can withstand anything.

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Most Coney Island hands are happy with the thirty temporary rides going up on property owned by developer Joe Sitt (that will shrink to 13 in mid-June) and not particularly concerned about the competition with Astroland and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. What they’re still worried about, though, is that “they’re still planning a shopping mall […]

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Will Lola Staar’s Dreamland Roller Rink, which was open for a very fun night back in March, open its doors for the summer in the historic Childs Building? Yesterday, Diana Carlin, aka Lola, sent out an email noting that she is very close, but is looking for sponsors or members to help give the wonderful […]

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[Photo courtesy of Screwtape/Coney Island Message Board] This is a roller coast called the Indy 500, which is one of the temporary Reithoffer Shows rides rising on property in Coney Island owned by developer Joe Sitt that will open on May 2 and run through early June. It’s a small, portable coaster that is also […]

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[Image via Potato Potato/flickr] This is an LP of Coney Island sounds dating back to 1957 that we found on flickr. There’s a bit more info about it here. We can tell you that Coney Island in Stereo on vinyl will set you back $59.00 and that many of the sounds recorded are of rides […]

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Have you joined our Gowanus Lounge Flickr Pool? Are you already a member? We welcome your contributions! And, don’t forget to tag those pics “gowanuslounge.” [Photo courtesy of lornagrl/flickr] This photo comes at us from the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island, where Nathan’s would be out of the frame on the […]

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While the premise of the film as posted on YouTube of Coney Island Amusements having “closed in 2007” is a bit off, the short film itself is very well done and has a lot of great Coney shots.

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