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It looks like would-be Coney Island developer Joe Sitt has gone all Henry F. Potter this Christmas, sending workers out last night to put up "For Lease" signs on boardwalk properties owned by his company, Thor Equities. A commenter on the Coneyisland.com message board snapped some photos last night and this morning, depicting the signs above such indispensible boardwalk mainstays as Nathan's and scruffy dive bar Ruby's Bar & Grill.
The sign above Ruby's comes as no surprise, as their lease expires at the end of the month and there has been speculation that they'll soon go the way of Astroland. Nathan's, however, is more of a shock, and has us wondering if this is Sitt's rough way of leveraging for a better deal on the ten acres of land the city wants to acquire from the developer. There is also speculation that Thor Equities began changing the locks and evicting some of the concession stands near the boardwalk last week. As for Ruby's, someone from the bar apparently left this comment on the message board last night:
OK gang--Ruby's here--no fear yet!!! THE POLAR BEAR PARTY IS STILL GOING ON!!!!! as of 6:10 pm 12-23.Scare tactic or not, it's depressing to imagine the boardwalk without Ruby's, to say nothing of a generic future when the annual hot dog eating contest is held outside a sparkling new Duane Reade or Applebee's. [Though it should be stressed that the sign pictured here is above the boardwalk Nathan's, not the Nathan's on Surf Avenue where the contest is held.] Or as another Coney Island commenter put it: "I want to cry. Seriously, the man has no heart--worse than that, sheer malice mixed with blatant power issues, where his heart should be."We are suppose to receive the lease next week--as far as amount he is requesting--that we do not know until we receive the lease. Thor has not responded to our calls. We know he has spoken to other owners and we are all getting out leases next week. I will know more tomorrow afternoon after conference calls--KEEP THE FAITH!! it may just be a tactic.
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GoodBye Ruby Nathan's who could hang a Lease on you? Oh Yeah Joe Shitt!! Eff the Developers and Screw Hipsters to boot!!!
So are they talking about the Nathan's on the boardwalk or the MAIN NATHAN'S??? That would seriously suck.
This is very sad news just in time for the holiday.
I think that's a picture of the boardwalk-Nathan's, not the main one.
Thanks Bloomberg, for letting all your developer friends fuck up New York. Real classy
Bit by bit, all that's uniquely enjoyable about this city is disappearing....
The most infuriating part of all this is that a native Brooklyn boy Joe Sitt is doing this. No one is going to rent any of these places. Why would you invest your money in something temporary while everything is in flux? This is a strong arm tactic. Sitt is willing to let it rot thinking he has leverage.
Who gets hurt in all of this? The remaining businesses. Will people go to see the freak show? Is the Wonder Wheel, Cyclone and the small amount of rides left, enough to draw people? Let's not forget that Cha Cha's could be another casualty. No bar on the boardwalk would seriously hurt business for everyone else.
Coney will need more events such as Mermaid, Nathans Hot dog eating and Siren to draw people. Fireworks 5 nights a weeks but who will help pay for it with Astroland gone?
Where are the Warriors when you need 'em?
Now the people on the coney island boards who constantly complain about the hipsters will get their wish. Sadly no one else will come out to Coney Island either.
This is very depressing.
Cara Mia, Ruby's.
BTW, been away visiting relatives for holiday misery. Good to be back to Gotham and the Gothamist.
Well
I can understand from a business point of view that if the leases are up, then Thor needs to advertise, but to do this before the current tenants have had a chance to see the lease, shows no respect for the tenants who have been paying rent for many years. If the rumors are true about a 3x hike in rent then I suspect that Thor expects that some of the tenants may want to negotiate or take time to consider this to and the Sign on the store front may be a bully boy tactic.
I cant help but think Thor may have got this slightly wrong, next week is Polar Bear day when thousands of people are on the boardwalk along with most of the New York media, I am sure the "For Lease" signs will make as much news as the polar bears and the comments wont be praising Thor for their actions.
I can not even start to think what Coney Island will be like this summer if there is no Ruby;s, Lola Star, Cha Cha's, Grill house the taco store, Gyro corner and all the other established business that make the boardwalk what it is,if theses guy's don't come back all we can look forward to is the shutters being down and nowhere to sit down and have a drink and something to eat and gaze upon the ocean and watch the Boardwalk go by.
John
Well
I can understand from a business point of view that if the leases are up, then Thor needs to advertise, but to do this before the current tenants have had a chance to see the lease, shows no respect for the tenants who have been paying rent for many years. If the rumors are true about a 3x hike in rent then I suspect that Thor expects that some of the tenants may want to negotiate or take time to consider this to and the Sign on the store front may be a bully boy tactic.
I cant help but think Thor may have got this slightly wrong, next week is Polar Bear day when thousands of people are on the boardwalk along with most of the New York media, I am sure the "For Lease" signs will make as much news as the polar bears and the comments wont be praising Thor for their actions.
I can not even start to think what Coney Island will be like this summer if there is no Ruby;s, Lola Star, Cha Cha's, Grill house the taco store, Gyro corner and all the other established business that make the boardwalk what it is,if theses guy's don't come back all we can look forward to is the shutters being down and nowhere to sit down and have a drink and something to eat and gaze upon the ocean and watch the Boardwalk go by.
John