For 108 years, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club has been plunging into the freezing water for "stamina, virility and immunity." The club convenes weekly, but their annual New Year's Day swim gets all the attention, and with the unseasonably warm weather on January 1st this year, the beach was packed with jubilant bathers. But it wasn't all high fives and Borat thongs (see photo five... or don't), this year Ruby's Old Tyme Bar and Grill—a Boardwalk institution—opened on New Year's Day for what may be the last time. In this excellent video, Gregory Stefano documented the contrast between the gaiety on the beach and the somber outrage inside Ruby's:
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Results tagged “coneyislandpolarbearclub”
Video: New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim and Ruby's Protest
Video: Yesterday's Psychotic Polar Bear Swim at Coney Island
Ruby's Bar and Grill and seven other Coney Island businesses are fighting their evictions in court, but the Post reports that their lawyers are also quietly working to arrange a settlement whereby their clients would slag off in exchange for some hush money. "The tenants are holding the boardwalk hostage in order to get a big payout and then walk away," one city official tells the tabloid. Exactly—it's just like how in Die Hard, the sinister Bruce Willis held all those people hostage at Nakatomi Plaza, thus preventing the noble Alan Rickman from saving them.
Ruby's Opening for New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim, Protest
If you were thinking this morning about how great it would be to spend a winter's day at the beach, here's good news. Ruby's Bar & Grill—the imperiled Coney Island institution—will open up for the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Swim. Despite receiving an eviction notice from the sinister corporate amusement giant Zamperla, the essential boardwalk dive isn't budging, and plans to open for "a HUGE protest" on New Year's day. A host at Ruby's (Facebook) tells us the doors will pop at 10:30 a.m. for the annual "Polar Bear Plunge for Camp Sunshine." Meanwhile, questions are being raised about the food service company that Zamperla wants to install on the Boardwalk to replace eight businesses, including Ruby's.
Coney Island Polar Bears Welcome 2008 With a Splash
Many hearty souls joined the Welcome to Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the annual New Year's Day dip into the Atlantic. Lucky for us, some Gothamist readers were on the scene and have taken some great photographs. Here are a few.
Video of the Day: Coney Island Polar Bears are Freezin' for a Reason
This year, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club really heated things up in their online video which features two topless ladies (backs turned to camera)! Will you make the plunge this New Years Day? Register or make a donation (money goes to Camp Sunshine) at Freezin' for a Reason. If you do participate, be warned, the water is usually around 33° degrees when the annual dip is made -- though they say "no member has...
Polar Bears Put New Members on Ice
After a man suffered fatal injuries during this New Year's swim, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club has announced it will not be accepting new members. Further, the membership of Bears-in-training (the "Cubs") will be frozen. Polar Bear club president Louie Scarella explained to the Daily News, "I closed the membership just to cut down the number of people in the water. It has broken my heart and the heart of the board to do this"
Record Warmth Cools Polar Bear Passions
What's a polar bear to do when it is 72 in January? Well, if you're a member of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, you stage a silent protest. The Times reports eight members of the club cancelled their Saturday swim, because the water was too warm. Perhaps more interestingly, the News reports it was nine members of the club and the Post says ten! According to Polar Bear Club treasurer Tom McGann, yesterday was the first time in more than a century that the club has cancelled a swim. Meanwhile, the News also reports that the real polar bears in the Central Park Zoo were largely unaffected by the warm weather.
Polar Bears Head to Coney Island
And by polar bears, we mean the human Coney Island Polar Bear Club, of course! The intrepid Homo sapiens will be taking their New Year's dip today at 1PM.
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