The previous news that developer Joe Sitt would be having rides and games on the big parcel of land that he cleared last year is partially true. The developer announced yesterday that carnival rides will be set up on the property from May 22 to June 1, although there is no indication whether he plans […]

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[Photos courtesy of Nicolas D’Angelo/flickr] We came across this small flickr photoset of models of one of the entries in the Parachute Jump Pavilion design competition that was held several years ago by the Van Alen Institute. This looks like it was an “honorable mention” design from the competition, which attracted more than 800 entries. […]

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[Coney Island Paint Day on the boardwalk, courtesy of Rubys Host] There was a cool trash can-painting event in Coney Island on Saturday. These are some of the results, which will be out on the boardwalk this season. The condition of the boardwalk itself is another matter.

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With the big renovation plan for the New York Aquarium dead in the water, but a new shark exhibit moving ahead, the new director of the New York Aquarium says he “wants to turn the quaint-but-ragged Coney Island sea-life center into a nationally recognized tourist attraction. Aquarium director Jon Dohlin said his $14.5 million annual […]

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[Left photo courtesy of Captain Nemo/Coney Island Message Board] A Coney Island food stand that was shut down last year and surrounded with a fence by developer Joe Sitt has lost the fence. The poster known as Captain Nemo at the Coney Island Message Board took a photo of the de-fenced stand, which had offered […]

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Again, we’ve posted about this previously, but the Coney Island “Boardwalk Barrels of Fun” painting event is on Saturday (4/5). It starts at 10AM and runs through 2PM with judging at 1PM. (This is another event for which the forecast, assuming it holds, is less than promising.) It takes place between West 10th St. and […]

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The New York Aquarium in Coney Island has lost one of its oldest residents, a 43-year-old sand tiger shark believed to be one of the oldest in any aquarium. Her name was Bertha and the aquarium staff is very sad about losing her. Bertha was euthanized Saturday after a month-long illness. The cause of death […]

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This was the scene on Thursday night at the opening of Coney Island of the Heart at the Bond Street Gallery in Gowanus. The neighborhood’s first photography gallery is “housed in a 100-year-old townhouse. Inside, it has exposed brick walls, and out back is a tranquil courtyard.” The show features photos shot by Harold Feinstein […]

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[Photo courtesy of Spatch/flickr] Coney Island’s beloved B&B Carousell, which was bought for $1.8 million by the City of New York before it could be auctioned off, is on its way Marion, Ohio, where it will be restored by experts at Carousels & Carvings Inc. The movers showed up at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, where […]

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We consider composer Phillip Glass the ultimate cerebral musician. Therefore, we take great pleasure in watching him ride the Cyclone in this video which is part of the trailer from a fascinating looking new documentary on one of the true living musical geniuses of our time. The documentary is called GLASS: A Portrait of Phillip […]

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Our frequent coverage of Coney Island has landed us on an interesting mailing list. Yesterday, we got some interesting spam from Svetlana Timofeeva in the Republic of Moldova asking us if we’re interesting in buy a carnival ride called Top Spin 2: “Our company name is ‘Sinax’ SRL and we are the owner of a […]

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Work on Coney Island USA‘s building should be done in time for Memorial Day when the Coney summer season starts in earnest. The group is renovating its building to include a Freak Bar and new gift shop on the ground floor and giving the exterior a new look, including some cool new lighting.

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The city is actually treading carefully with its planning process in Coney Island. “But what’s the fallback if Sitt and the other three major property owners don’t agree to sell? ‘If we’re not successful at acquiring it as parkland, there are other options we’re considering,’ [Coney Island Development Corp. Chair Lynn] Kelly said. Queried to […]

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We have to say that the opening of Lola Staar’s roller rink in the historic Childs Building in Coney Island on Saturday night was an event so nice we feel compelled to blog it twice. (Well, given that we posted everything on Easter Sunday, we thought we’d air it all out again on a Monday […]

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On Saturday, we picked up an item from the Coney Island Message Board that said developer Joe Sitt was planning to use the big parcel of land he cleared last winter for carnival rides and games this season and will be reopening games in a building he kept closed last year. One Coney hand we […]

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The Coney Island boardwalk seems to have gone from bad to worse just in time for the new season. The block between W. 12 Street and Stillwell Avenue–in front of Ruby’s and Lola Staar and other establishments–seems to have weathered the winter badly and is now frighteningly deteriorated. (And we do mean “frightening” in a […]

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Some history was made in Coney Island last night when Dianna Carlin opened her Dreamland Roller Rink in the landmarked Childs Building on the boardwalk. It was only the second public event the historic structure in the last half century. The building–which has been made available by Taconic Investment–was decorated in white lights and billowing […]

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Here’s a vid of the opening last night of Lola Staar’s super cool roller rink at the Child’s Building on the Boardwalk. A significantly good time was had by all.

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The “Dreamland Roller Rink” in the historic Childs Building in Coney Island opened last night. Here is a preliminary slideshow with some pics we took.

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The big Coney Island lot that once held go-kart tracks, batting cages and other amusements that was cleared by developer Joe Sitt last winter, may be getting some life back this summer. There’s word on the Coney Island Message Board that there will be rides and games on the developer’s property. (We presume it’s reliable, […]

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We found this vid courtesy of the always excellent Kinetic Carnival from Omar Robau and Ben Nadler. It’s amusing in a first day of the season at Coney Island kind of way.

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An item in The Real Estate from the Observer’s Bradley Hope has created a small stir among the Coney crowd. He attended the panel discussion on The Future of Coney Island at the Museum of the City of New York on Wednesday and reports that there may be a change of strategy on the part […]

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We are very happy for Dianna Carlin, the Coney Island entrepreneur known as Lola Staar, who is opening her Dreamland Roller Rink in the historic Childs Building on the Boardwalk on Saturday night (3/22). Readers might recall that Ms. Carlin was nearly put out of business by developer Joe Sitt and we had many conversations […]

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It’s that time again. Sidewshows by the Seashore opens on Easter Sunday. Come see Donny Vomit, Heather Holiday, Insectavora, Serpentina, Twisted Shockmeister Scott Baker and Nick Sin.–Kinetic Carnival

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