My Brooklyn: Clash of Interests

Fredouille34, on May 3, said:

Nice shot of Brooklyn!!!

Hank Waxman, on May 3, said:

Thanks Fred. There a land war going on in Coney Island. It's reported that popular areas will be torn down for residential development. High rise apartment houses just don't seem to bring images of fun like Nathan's does; thus the "Clash."

Best regards,

Hank

©Toodleberry, on May 3, said:

Hi Hank,

It's a shame about Coney. :.( Ironic though, Barnes & Noble is supposed to be built, but the original store on 6th Ave/22nd has closed due to B&N can't afford the rent. Crazy. Perhaps with the housing slump it'll slow down the development. We can hope. I miss the thrift stores across the street.

Cheers,

Chris

Hank Waxman, on May 5, said:

Hi Chris. I remember when the thrift stores started to encroach on Surf Avenue. My fear was that the carousel would vanish in their wake, but it didn't happen. That old Merry-go-Round has been there all of my life, although I admit I didn't notice it this time through.

Hank

Richard Ryer, on May 5, said:

Greetings Hank, Don't know about the clash at Coney Island but your photograph really distills the city scene into a compressed area. It's almost claustrophobic. Hmmm.....think I'll stick to the smaller towns.

Cheers,

Rich

Hank Waxman, on May 6, said:

Greetings Rich. The perspective really does play tricks in the city's close-in environment. It seemed appropriate too, since the developers are primed and ready with their wrecking balls.

Coney Island has had its ups and downs, highs and lows, but there are few places that own the same history of fun and innocence for generations of Americans. I guess I'd be in favor of preserving that history in some way...of course I don't live nearby anymore so i'm not sure my vote counts.

BTW, are you having any trouble with Panoramio's counters. As I write this it says this phot has been viewed "0" times which is impossible. The problem seems to affect all of my recent posts.

I'm jusat asking in case you are having the same problem or have heard of it.

Thanks,

Hank

TRingold, on May 7, said:

Very nice perspective Hank, in more ways than one. You should post a picture of that carousel for us west coasters before it too goes the way of the ball! Your preservation of that history.

Don't feel bad I don't think my vote counts either. I've had trouble with both the counter and the mapping lately

Until later

Tom

juansinmiedo, on May 8, said:

Nice use of telephoto. Crystal clear focus of probably half a mile, I'll remember this.

Hank Waxman, on May 8, said:

Thank you Tom and juansinmiedo for visiting Coney Island with me. I had dinner with an old friend from the neighborhood last evening and was told that the owner of the old, classic carousel has closed it down. It was the last one in Coney Island. All of the horses are in storage waiting to see if they can find a buyer for the whole Merry-go-round. If not they will be selling each of the components separately.

Sorry to deliver the sad news.

Hank

juansinmiedo, on May 8, said:

I'm sure somebody will snap up the whole thing. Ebay may be a good way to do it.

Hank Waxman, on May 8, said:

I hope someone does. It would be great to see the whole thing preserved somewhere.

©Toodleberry, on May 8, said:

Hi Hank,

Ugh, now I'm sad. I hope whomever buys the carousel leaves it in Coney. If not Coney maybe Greenpoint where the carousel was made. I think your vote counts; you grew up in Brooklyn. I live along the F train and am a transplant from Staten Island and I know that the thought of Coney Island becoming a mall or Disney really angers me. If I wanted Disney I'd move to Orlando. I never had the experience of innocence in Coney Island though. Especially hanging out in Ruby's on the boardwalk drinking with the local tranny and eating the most greasy fried shrimp. Finding condoms and ripped out pages of porn under the boardwalk, and a decayed cat (I have to look for that pic). Also at Chi-Chi's which has a fantastic jukebox and cheap drinks. And Chi-Chi's also has the only Elvis/James Brown impersonator. I think Coney is sublimely awfully wonderful. It is the place where Jumbo the elephant was electricuted before a crowd for entertainment and the former owner (name is slipping from me) charged people to watch as the Steeplechase burned to the ground. It is a historical place that will soon become an uninteresting mall. Soon it will be no different than anywhere else, except maybe for the sound of Russian, Puerto Rican, Ukrainian and New Yawk accents that will be the only authenticity. NYC is turning into the New York New York Hotel in Vegas where even the original CBGBs is going to be placed. I'm not bitter though...just having a hard time with New York being brainwashed into thinking it can be a beautiful city. It isn't it never will be it never was and that's its charm and why it has attracted interesting city. It's only beautiful high up but the ground is littered with constellations of gum patches that date back to the 1920s. The cliches of NYC are reversed now: Sinatra—If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere Updated If you can make there, you probably have a fantastic stock portfolio; If you can't find it in New York, it probably doesn't exist Updated If you can't find it in New York, you'll find it somewhere else; The city that never sleeps Updated The city that's nodding off Just to let you know we are losing some of our historians like Luc Sante who wrote Low Life about the history of the Bowery, where Coney got its start. Sante said he was experiencing "angry nostalgia" and moved to Kingston, NY and said let the city council turn New York into Beijing with all the highrises built on top of tenements. OOoo...sorry for my rant. It just saddens me that I see double decker tourist buses not only on Flatbush Ave, but also now on 4th Ave. I guess tourists are interested in seeing tire and auto repair shops. I was upset when the buses entered SoHo in the early 90s. I always compliment tourists who take our subways—the best and truest way to experience New York. On the tourist buses you'll see happy faces instead of the quiet bleak faces on the subway. Little story: on the F train last week I was looking at the bleak faces reading, looking at their Crackberries/cell phones/iPods while looking at Gregory Crewdson's new book I bought at his exhibit on 24th St. in Chelsea called Beneath the Roses. The faces in his cinemagraphic scenes are always regretful, sad, guilty, beaten by life which I noticed on the train. As I was looking around, I was shaken out of it by a young guy who swiped an iPod from a guy sitting next to the door at the 4th Ave. Stop in Brooklyn. The guy sitting reacted quickly and ran after the kid as the doors almost closed on him. I turned to the window and the guy was right on his ass as they disappeared down the stairs and then the iPod flies high in the air as the train moved on. Everyone in the car began to talk; one woman saying that this is a wake-up call for her. I got off the train saying, "Let's look at the bright side, it got a whole bunch of strangers to talk."

I also have noticed strange things with the counters on panoramio as well as the tags.

One more: a guy in my digital photo class who is a scientist of some sort has moved here from Denver (where he first started photography—taking pictures of the mountains and nature outside the city). He discovered how difficult it is to get out of NY to get to nature (about 3 hours because of traffic in Jersey). Now he is obsessed with brick walls and never realized how different they are from each other from the kind of brick, the patterns, colors and graffiti. I said to him that he has discovered what I call the honeymooners' view of a brick wall. It forces you to have to be creative. When that is all you see you need to make beauty for yourself. A view of mountain doesn't force you because mountains in and of themselves are beautiful.

In New York don't expect to be remembered. Just a part of her personality crisis.

Just some long thoughts.

Be well,

Chris

PS Hank: Check out the band Luna named after the legendary Luna Park in ol' Coney.

Hank Waxman, on May 8, said:

Chris,

My Coney Island experience is much different from yours, and it’s mostly fun. When I was really young, my parents used to treat the family to “something” for each of our birthdays. There were three of us: I’ve an older brother and a younger sister. Annually, the family was taken to Steeplechase for my May birthday. I remember a lot of it: the huge slides, the caterpillar ride, the barrels, the Steeplechase itself which I wasn’t old enough to ride, and the clown at the end of the ride…and much, much more. After a day at the amusement park it was dinner at Nathan’s which had restaurant-style service in a room with tables behind the more famous portion. For years, that’s what I thought a restaurant was.

Then there was Washington Baths, a few blocks further down Surf Avenue towards Seagate. The first year my friend and I had lockers there, and after than we shared a bathhouse. It had a huge pool, and we could get our hand stamped for ultraviolet and go out onto the beach.

Under the boardwalk was clean, and it was a cool place to rest your bare feet from the blistering hot sand. A hotdog was $.15; so was a slice of pizza and the B-36 bus back to Sheepshead Bay; a distance of about 3-1/4 miles to my home door-to-door. That was our biggest daily decision: did we buy a hot dog or pizza with our bus money, and leave early, or did we stay and swim and take the bus home. Life those summers was sweet. Rides of the carousel was among the things we saved for, and we rode for free if we caught the brass ring. As regulars, the owner (or day manager) let all of us ride, if one of us caught the singular brass ring.

As I grew older our “beach” became Manhattan Beach which was just the other side of the Bay. We congregated at the “NO” sign. For those who might not know what that is, it was the big sign with the very big “NO” printed on it, followed by a long list, in smaller type of the things we weren’t allowed to do on the beach.

We couldn’t drive in NYC until we were 18, if you remember, so Coney Island lost out to places we could walk to for a hangout, and when we could drive we went exploring and Coney Island was where we stopped on the way back for a hot dog or to win stuffed animals for the new girls who might have been traveling with us that evening.

I left New York for the corporate life in ’69 so I didn’t get to do Coney Island as an adult, and after I returned in ’83 it has been an automatic stop for all out-of-town visitors, and an occasional stop for a hot dog and French fries…but you’re right: even the hot dogs and fries “ain’t” what they used to be.

Cheers,

Hank

juansinmiedo, on May 8, said:

Hank and Chris, the real Coney was probably somewhere in the middle. I´d be willing to bet Chris is talking about the 80´s while Hank´s thinking of the 60s. It was a different world then.

Hank Waxman, on May 8, said:

Thanks juansinmiedo, but I was thinking the 50's, and while my folks aren't around to ask, I wouldn't be surprised if those early birthday treat-trips to Steeplechase started in the late 40's. I'm older than I thought...and older than I feel.

Hank

TRingold, on May 8, said:

You would think some one like The Donald or Blomberg would step up. Out her in Seattle, when we were going to loose Jimmy Hendrix and the Sea Hawks, Paul Allen stepped up. It is a preservation of culture which once lost will never be again. Too bad you can't work your way into that warehouse and record some history Hank! Some excellent shots of those horses (as you are so well adept) could stir alot of interest!

Perhaps that gap in experience between you and Chris, accounts for the indifference whith the powers that be, which is allowing the loss of the icon. Chris' experience is not as appealing as the one your are relating and there is no wonder no one wishes the venture to Coney Island now days, condoms, porno and dead cat are a poor moniker... The Naked City.

Hank Waxman, on May 9, said:

Tom, those are some excellent ideas. My friend knew about it because she is a well know antique expert. I will ask to see if I can get into the warehouse. I'll report back.

Hank

©Toodleberry, on May 9, said:

Hi Hank, juansinmiedo and TRingold,

juansinmiedo is right. My first time in Coney was in the late 70s. But most of it was through the 80s 'til today. I go on the Cyclone at least once a year. Usually do the double ride and I sit in the back seat. It's a really great ride. TRingold I haven't been under the boardwalk since my teens so I don't know if the porn is still found, probably condoms. (But I found condoms in the Villa Borghese in Rome and the Tuillerie in Paris. I've found them in Prospect Park. I don't pick them up or anything, just take a mental note. :) But Coney still attracts people from all over. There's the hotdog eating contest, the Mermaid Parade the last Saturday of June, and the Farm League, the Cyclones now have a stadium (concerts are good to see there), the Freakshow and sideshows were revived in the 80s with the rise of tribal tattoos and "modern primitives" body modification and piercings. And the boardwalk is a great place to watch people. Also the beach is cleaner than ever before. I'm being relative, and Hank can attest. It is no San Diego or Florida beach. But it is much cleaner. And on the weekends, Friday or Saturday during the summer, a fireworks show lighting up the Parachute Jump (aka Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower). So you should visit but just don't go under the boardwalk. The bars are fun, real characters you'll meet or even just watch, and the food is greasy greasy. But you don't go there for fine dining. Expect the game vendors to insult you to get you to play to win a big ass prize so be prepared to ignore them or insult them back, all in good fun. And Hank the rings on the carousel were gone when I first rode it and it was indoors amongst the thrift shops. (I bought a picture frame for $5 that I later noticed a reissue of the style in Pottery Barn for $30.) The bathhouse I believe turned into the Coney Island Thrift Store where I did my college days shopping. I still have an in-decent-shape early 60s mint green windbreaker I got for 3 bucks. I still where it in the Spring with little tatter. Anything I get at the GAP hasn't lasted as long, and the breaker was already 20 or so years old when I bought it. The thrift store is gone and I don't really shop in thrift stores any more; it's all 80s and 90s clothing. Soon retro-millenium will be IT. And TR don't let my description stop you from visiting it. It's worth a one time visit at least.

Have a good one all three of you,

Chris

TRingold, on May 9, said:

You go Hank! I can't wait.

Tom

Hank Waxman, on May 10, said:

Hi Guys! I just posted a couple of more pictures that relate more to our conversation than to my originally planned next grouping. The first is especially dedicated to our Cyclone riding friend, Chris (Toodleberry). This was taken from directly across the street from the Cyclone with the Wonder Wheel in the background. Two of the greatest, fun symbols of Coney Island in my lifetime.

By the way Chris, the Carousel was always, as far as I can remember, in a storefront. You just walked in off the street, waited for the current ride to end, and jumped on to grab an outside, moving horse. This was before we had to wait for the carousel to stop before claiming squatters rights to your chosen stallion. In a way it was like eating in Sheepshead Bay’s Lundy’s: you seated yourself by finding an almost-finished table with the right number of seats and hovering over the people until they were finished. Sadly, while Lundy’s still stands as a monument to it’s past glory, it is closed for business – permanently, the rumors say.

Don’t apply today’s standards of etiquette to this story. The people didn’t mind you hovering because that’s how they got the seats too.

By the time Chris made his first visit to Coney Island in the late 70’s, this building may have lost it’s purpose. You used to enter on the side street and climb the flight of stairs to this, our local Draft Board. I guess I’m not the only person to have stories about this building, and what it stood for back when I graduated college in 1967.

If you enlarge the picture, and look way down the block you will see Garguilo’s restaurant, Brooklyn’s second best-known Italian restaurant…the first one always being the local pizzeria.

I’ve been to a couple of Brooklyn Cyclones baseball games (pictures already posted), and while it was great fun to sit in the shadow of the Parachute Jump, feeling the breeze off the ocean watching the game, I still miss Ebbets Field, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Yes, I am among the kids that never forgave them.

Cheers, and thanks for inspiring this trip down Memory Lane.

Hank

Rafael (Retrocool), on May 11, said:

As many times I have been to NY, I have never been to Nathans!

Hank Waxman, on May 11, said:

Greetings Rafael. Of course I think Coney Island and Nathan's is a must see tourist attraction, but if you really can't get there, check out Nathan's on-line store and at least taste the hot dog that made Coney Island famous.

Cheers,

Hank

Rafael (Retrocool), on May 13, said:

as you know being from chicago, i am a big fan of chicago vienna beef hot dogs... and i would hate to be bias...

on the other hand, i think nathans hot dogs would be best eaten if i was at nathans to really enjoy the experience..

Hank Waxman, on May 13, said:

I understand completely. I feel the same way about Nathan's (my kids have a favorite hot dog stand in Westchester, Walter's in Larchmont.

So I guess we'll see you in Coney Island someday.

Cheers,

Hank