#MermaidParade Hooks Lots of Fans

All eyes on the #mermaidparade this Saturday

The new Coney Island Carousel is just exquisite

 The workmanship is exquisite. the sculpting of of each horse's action is astounding.  Each horse is more outstanding than the next.  Not just for kids anymore.  I was tempted to volunteer to stand by someone else's kid so I could stand and enjoy the ride. $3.00 each ride.  Do I really have to wait until I have grandchildren?

The B&B Carousell (historically spelled with two “Ls” likely due to the spelling used by the carousel’s original manufacturer) is the only historic carousel in Coney Island and represents a link between the amusement area’s past, present, and future.

Built in 1906, the carousel features fifty hand-carved wooden horses, including thirty-six jumpers (up-and-down movement), fourteen standers (stationary), as well as two chariots and the striking “Lincoln’s head” horse, covered in bold silver armor. The carousel also features the Gebruder Bruder “Elite Orchestra Apollo” band organ (likely constructed between 1913 and 1916), one of only three existing in the United States.

The carousel operated on Surf Avenue for seventy years until it was nearly sold in pieces at an auction in 2005. The City of New York instead purchased the carousel to preserve this important piece of Coney Island’s history and restore it to its former glory. A team of carousel restoration experts and art conservators – from Carousels & Carvings Inc. and Intermuseum Conservation Association – diligently restored the carousel to its original condition, including a new, custom-carved wheelchair-accessible chariot.

No riders. The workmanship is too delicate.  But something very honorable about a riderless horse.

The Thunderbolt Reborn at Luna Park in #Coney Island

Anticipated to be open Summer 2014. 125 feet tall, more than 2,000 feet in length and speeds over 65 miles per hour! 

Coney Island beach boutique finds its way back

Coney Island beach boutique finds its way back | Crain's New York Business

Seven months after Hurricane Sandy, the Lola Star Boutique in Coney Island is back in business, to the relief of owner Lola Star, and the delight of customers who helped rebuild the shop.
Part of the reason it took seven months to reopen is because the 134-square-foot shop is located inside the Stillwell Avenue subway station, which was inundated with mud and grime from the storm surge.
"It was like opening up Pandora's box," Ms. Star said. "Every problem and complication that could arise did."
Ms. Star rents the space from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Before opening her shop in 2010, she spent four years negotiating the details with the transportation authority, hiring an engineer to draw the precise plan of the shop and getting it approved. Rebuilding the shop, she had to make sure it would look exactly the same.
She admits that she didn't prepare for the storm well enough. Expecting Sandy to hit her 600-square-foot shop on the boardwalk, she moved the entire inventory to Stillwell Avenue, a block from the ocean. To her surprise, Sandy didn't touch her shop on the boardwalk. Her shop at the subway station, however, was flooded. Ms. Star lost everything.
It cost her $100,000 to reopen: $25,000 to rebuild the shop, the same sum to purchase new inventory. She lost $50,000 in sales from being closed for seven months.
Despite the expense, time and worry, Ms. Star says Sandy has made her a better businesswoman.
"I'm pretty shocked by how naïve I was before this happened, she said. "The lesson was tough, but it made me rethink my business model and reinvent my business."

Inside the new bathroom pods on the #ConeyIsland #Boardwalk

 I think most people will get used to the pods pretty quickly.  Their height intrudes on seamless space from boardwalk to beach to ocean. Bathrooms are small but modern.   The ramp system could be a challenge for disabled and may be too long for someone who really has to go. Could be a playset for some knuckleheads. And if these $2 million bathrooms get trashed it won't be because of the next superstorm.