Results tagged “thorequities”

Very recently Thor Equities' Joe Sitt shut down Dreamland, Coney Island’s biggest amusement park, after a rent dispute with the park’s operator Anthony Raffaelle. Sure, half a million dollars is nothing to scoff at, but the summering masses want their amusements! So Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. has stepped in, and his intervening has gotten the padlocks taken off the site. In a statement we received this afternoon, he says, “Dreamland provided jobs to the community and was a big attraction for visitors. After discussing the issue with Thor, they agreed to reopen for the Labor Day weekend. I would like to thank Thor recognizing the importance of Dreamland in Coney Island. Thor and the site’s operator have agreed to work out their rent issues in the coming weeks." Upon the closure, Raffaelle had told NY1, "First of all they came down here, they quadrupled everybody's rent in Coney Island. Nobody in Coney Island can pay their rent now."

If Thor Equities was hoping to win over public opinion, we're not sure this is the way to go: The developer which owns the land where Dreamland Amusement Park sits (the former Astroland site) has shut down the amusement, claiming non-payment of rent. Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman tells the Post that Dreamland has only paid $30,000—and owes $600,000, "We are hopeful that Dreamland will soon pay its rent, so it can quickly reopen the rides." But Dreamland president Anthony Raffaele told NY1 he has been paying rent, "First of all they came down here, they quadrupled everybody's rent in Coney Island. Nobody in Coney Island can pay their rent now. And now they come down here and cut all the locks. Why'd they wait till now, if I haven't been paying the rent, it's two weeks away from the end of the season." City Councilman Domenic Recchia criticized Thor owner Joseph Sitt as "a heartless person who only cares about money."

After years of discussion, the City Council voted 44-2-1 in favor of rezoning Coney Island per the Bloomberg administration's plan for the 27-acre area, which includes hotels, retail shops, and a new roller coaster. And it looks like the city is working out a deal with Thor Equites' Joe Sitt, the developer who bought much of the land at Coney Island in hopes of his own ambitious hotel-amusement park plans.

As Coney Island continues to be reshaped under the mighty hammer of Thor, a familiar relic from its old theme park arrived in our nation's capital yesterday. The Astroland Star made its way down to Washington DC in preparation for the display it will have at The Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum inside the Udvar-Hazy Center come 2011. DCist got an early look yesterday at Curator Margaret Weitekamp and Exhibit Designer Rebekah Brokway measuring it right out of the box.

Mayor Bloomberg announced that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be setting up a seaside tent at Coney Island this summer: "For the first time in its 139-year history, The Greatest Show On Earth will make its way to one of the greatest neighborhoods in New York City - Coney Island."

     

Check it out, check it out! Red Hook may have lost its iconic Revere Sugar Refinery Dome, but look what the neighborhood is gaining on that mostly-cleared parcel of land adjacent to IKEA: A 376,000 square foot shopping mall with a massive BJ's, the discount big box wholesaler you can find all over the United States of Generica! These renderings leaked to Curbed/Racked reveal the vast breadth of the project (first hinted at last September), which would be the largest retail development in over two decades. If you build it, they will shop?

After a heavy-handed scare tactic on Christmas Eve, Coney Island developer Joe Sitt is expected to offer new leases to nearly a dozen Boardwalk tenants—except for one: funky pink-hued boutique Lola Staar. As previously reported in the Brooklyn Paper, Lola owner Dianna Carlin believes Sitt and his company Thor Equities are retaliating against her for her outspoken criticism. She tells the Daily News, "No one knows better than me how vicious and evil they are but it still astounds me." Yeah, one could see how comments like that could sorta backfire. Carlin, who says she's "heartbroken," reveals that a Sitt lackey called her recently to say, "We're kicking you out. Have a Happy New Year." Michael Sarrel, co-owner of Ruby's, says, "We believe we are being renewed, but as of today I don't know for sure. There's a substantial rent increase. The truth is the previous rent was fair. The new rent is unfair."

With a deal to sell some of his prime Coney Island boardwalk real estate to the city stalled, developer Joe Sitt is moving to snatch up more land in an attempt to build a controversial entertainment-amusement-hotel complex. Kansas Fried Chicken king Horace Bullard tells the Post that he's "leaning toward" selling the former Thunderbolt roller coaster site to Sitt for $91 million. Those three acres would tighten Sitt's grip on most of the land stretching from Keyspan Park to the Cyclone.

lornagrl took this photograph of the Save Coney Island rally against developer Thor Equities. Right now, some tenants on the Boardwalk are reporting that they've been options to extend their leases—or eviction notices! We'll have more later about the protest (and the Polar Bear Club's dip) later.

According to an email and this post on the Coney Island message board, the annual post-Polar Bear swim party at Ruby's Bar on the boardwalk will proceed, despite escalating fears that the beloved dive would close. On Christmas Eve, a large number of businesses on the boardwalk were plastered with "For Lease" signs by Thor Equities, which owns much of the property on Coney Island and is locked in tough negotiations with the city over the make-up of a proposed upscale hotel and amusement project.

    

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 Post reports that the "Bloomberg administration is in serious negotiations to buy 10.5 acres of real estate in Coney Island that once appeared unobtainable - a move that would save both Astroland Park and the mayor's plans to revive the slumping seaside amusement district." Apparently Thor Equities developer Joe Sitt is "ready to give up his controversial plan to build a $1.5 billion Vegas-style entertainment complex." The Post also points out reasons why Sitt might give up the dream of putting a Las Vegas-like resort in Brooklyn (the city acquired some land necessary for his plans, Bloomberg might be around for another four years), and City Councilman Domenic Recchia seems optimistic, "God willing, we will get this done soon." And if the city gets the land, will Astroland reopen?

Could it be that Reverend Billy prematurely administered last rites to Astroland, that highly romanticized jumble of third-rate county fair rides? After yesterday's report that unnamed officials were trying to broker a deal between Astroland owner Carol Albert and developer Joe Sitt (to whom she sold her 3 acres of property for $30 million in 2006), Mayor Bloomberg has now publicly entered the fray. Hizzoner told reporters yesterday that it "would be a shame if we lost" the Astroland rides, which are now up for sale. "What we're trying to do is to get Astroland to have another one-year extension of their lease so that we can get the rezoning done and then hopefully come to an agreement with Thor." Albert has not commented on the resuscitation efforts since closing Astroland for good on Sunday; a spokesman for Sitt insists there are no negotiations under way with the city or Albert.

Well, forget about getting any closure; less than 48 hours after Coney Island amusement park Astroland supposedly shut down forever, city officials are working behind the scenes to try and keep it alive. The Daily News hears buzz from an unnamed official that if property owner Joe Sitt can be convinced to temporarily extend Astroland's lease, the city will agree to lease land to Astroland owner Carol Albert if and when a controversial plan for a new amusement area gets approved. But there are a lot of ifs at play here, and Albert has already moved to sell off the rides. Another catch is that both sides say no one from the city has contacted them. Albert's spokesman struck a bitter note: "Talk is cheap. It's just too much of an upstream swim at this point."

Astroland closed its doors yesterday, and its owner, Carol Albert, says it's for good. She told the Daily News, "I want to make it clear that despite rumors to the contrary, there are absolutely no negotiations going on."

Today will be the last ride for Coney Island's Astroland. That will leave park owner Carol Albert with two dozen rides and 16 trailers worth of items accumulated over 46 years to clear out by next January in order to avoid fines from land owners Thor Equities. In order to clear out ASAP, Albert has already put several of the rides up for sale online from a firm called "Rides-4-U." Rides such as Dante's Inferno and Top Spin can be bought for prices ranging from $200k-$500k.

Astroland, the Coney Island amusement park that seems constantly on the brink of extinction in recent years, appears to be shutting down Astro-fast and will close down for good this Thursday. Owner Carol Albert, in a letter published by today's NY Daily News, wrote that property owner Thor Management "has left Astroland no choice but to notify its employees that the amusement park will be closing permanently at the end of the season."

It's that time of year again, when, with a regularity that rivals the swallows' return to Capistrano, the operator of the Astroland amusement area on Coney Island stares into her future and beholds a murky void. The tradition, which dates all the way back to 2007, is deeply troubling for Carol Albert, who has no idea whether developer Joe Sitt will renew her lease on the land that Astroland has occupied for 46 years. Sitt's company Thor Equities bought the property two years ago.

Get ready to ride the Cyclone again - Astroland is opening up for the 2008 season this Sunday! There were worries, due to ambitious plans to redevelop Coney Island, that 2007 was Astroland's last season, but Astroland owners, the Albert family, and Thor Equities were able to come to an agreement last October.

Another over-the-top Coney Island development proposal is in the works. Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a plan today to build the nation's biggest urban amusement park there, including 4,500 residential units (20 percent are set-asides for low- and middle-income housing) and some retail establishments. The proposal basically spells doom for Thor Equities' $1.5 million Vegas-style entertainment complex that can only get built if the city provides zoning for it. Don't worry, the Cyclone isn't going anywhere....

These photographs were garnered from the Brooklyn Museum's holdings to create an exhibit titled: Goodbye Coney Island? The collection "traces the evolution of this fabled part of New York over the past 125 years," over which time it has undergone many transformations. The most prominent of which is still in the future -- with Thor Equities redeveloping the area. The above ride looks terrifying! If you'd like to revisit the glory days, head over...

Need a last minute costume idea and in a New York state of mind? Here are a few NYC-themed ideas for your Halloween fête...

Wow: The Daily News reports that Astroland will "open for one last season" thanks to a deal between Astroland owner, the Albert family, and Thor Equities.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a home invasion robbery on 11th St. in Brooklyn, an unusual rescue on Selwyn Ave. in the Bronx, and a shooting on Rugby Rd. and Foster Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The 30-year-old homeless man charged with raping and torturing a Columbia student in her apartment in April was found mentally fit to stand trial.
• Negotiations between Thor Equities and several Coney Island boardwalk tenants are nearly settled, allowing many attractions to remain through next summer.
• New York magazine notes that NYC may soon receive a movie theater that has a no-children-under-the-age-of-six policy.
• Norman Hsu, one of Sen. Clinton's primary fundraisers during her run for the Presidency, is being charged by federal prosecutors with running a Ponzi scheme and defrauding people of tens of millions of dollars.
• A Brooklyn car salesman scammed rides on a fire truck with members of a Bed-Stuy firehouse after producing a forged letter and bearing stolen FDNY gear.
• Not getting too far by striking, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance is now suing the city to prevent the mandatory installation of GPS equipment in cabs.
• As he led cops on a 70 mph chase through the streets of Flatbush before allegedly shooting officer Dillon Stewart, accused killer Allan Cameron was watching a porn movie on the DVD player in his Infiniti.
• Best use of 9/11 in a new fall season program (so far): Kitchen Nightmares, when a Long Island restaurant "owner," upon Gordon Ramsay criticizing him about the state of a kitchen, "blame everything on me! Blame fires in Chicago, Hurricane Katrina, 9-11" (via Television Without Pity)

The Post gets confirmation that the city is no longer looking for new sites for Astroland, the Coney Island amusement park. The Coney Island Development Corporation's president Lynn Kelly said, "We just couldn't find the right fit" in time.

Time for everyone to say good-bye to Coney Island, as the 2007 season for Astroland's "Big Park" and Cyclone ends today (the kiddie park will be open through mid-October). And with real estate developer Thor Equities and the city battling it out over Coney Island's future, it's unclear whether the park will reopen next year.

Supporters of Astroland will be gathering tomorrow at the Surf Ave. entrance of Astroland in a rally to save the boardwalk amusement park from shuttering for good. Sunday is the last day of the season for the park and unless Thor Equities extends its lease for another year, Astroland will be closing for good. One supporter recommend showing up early and will be providing foamboard and markers to make signs. PDF posters for printing can be found here. Colorful outfits are recommended, as it is a celebration in hope of Astroland's continued existence rather than a wake or a funeral. An online petition to save the park can be signed here. Performers at tomorrow's rally will include Mariachi Real de Mexico at 4pm and The Hungry March Band at 6pm.

While the future of Coney Island is still up in the air, some rides are already closing for good. The Post reports that the Spider and Zipper were packed up for the last time in their Coney Island location. Without an extension of their leases for 2008 from Thor Equities, the new owners of the land, workers began dismantling the two rides yesterday. The rides were sold by their owner and are destined for warmer pastures in Honduras. The owner of the Spider and Zipper was told before the season that their lease would not be renewed.

Astroland's stay of execution may have hit a snag. While there were hopes that Thor Equities, the developer who has purchased the amusement park for $30 million as part of its ambitious Coney Island development plans, and Astroland operators could work out a deal, the Post reports that Thor is looking for an increase on the order of 17 times the current rent.

This morning the video mentioned in this Metro piece was up on YouTube. Now it's missing and all that's left is a message reading it "has been removed by the user." The video was posted by Coney Island developer Thor Equities’ and portrayed a clearly scripted and favorably edited scene from the Mermaid Parade.