September 13, 2007 Plans Afoot to Restore Coney Island Carousel for New Spin on the Boardwalk By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Two years after city officials bought the last old wooden carousel on Coney Island for $1.8 million, they are drawing up plans to spend an additional $2 million to make it the centerpiece of a new park near the Boardwalk. The 88-year-old carousel, known as the B&B Carousell, would be the main attraction of Steeplechase Plaza, a public park proposed at the heart of a redeveloped Coney Island, said Lynn Kelly, president of the Coney Island Development Corporation. The development corporation has begun searching for a consultant to oversee the restoration of the carousel, she said. After returning the carousel's 50 horses and two chariots to their original appearance, city officials hope to place the carousel in a pavilion where it could serve as a year-round attraction between the Boardwalk and KeySpan Park, the home field of the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team. "We're trying to really bring the amusements back to life," Ms. Kelly said. In trying to revive the Coney Island of yore, city officials may be swimming against a riptide. Astroland Amusement Park, home to the famous wooden roller coaster the Cyclone, closed for the season on Sunday amid doubts about whether it will reopen. A development company, Thor Equities, has spent more than $100 million buying Astroland and several adjacent acres with a plan to build a hotel, apartments and restaurants. But city officials oppose the zoning change the developer is seeking because they say it would be incompatible with the amusement district they want to preserve. While that debate plays out, the city development corporation is pushing ahead with its plan to restore the carousel, whose name derives from its one-time owners, William Bishoff and Herman Brienstein. The B&B had seen significant wear and tear over the decades but was still operational when the city bought it in 2005. Built in Brooklyn by William F. Mangels, it was first operated in New Jersey, but it had been in Coney Island since the 1930s, Ms. Kelly said. Some of the figures were carved by Charles Carmel and Marcus Charles Illions, two masters of the Coney Island school of carousel art, she said. Its owner had arranged to sell the carousel, either whole or in parts, through the Guernsey's auction house before city officials stepped in and agreed to pay $1.8 million. The city then had it dismantled and stored in a warehouse in Brooklyn. Todd W. Goings, a builder and restorer of carousels whom the city hired to oversee the disassembly, said the B&B was "a very nice machine" that should "hold up well in storage." He said the cost of restoring it would depend on how dedicated city officials were to trying to regain the original appearance of the carousel figures, but that the work could exceed $1 million. "There's a lot of different ways to skin a cat, and carousels are no different," said Mr. Goings, who lives in Marion, Ohio. The development corporation is collecting bids from consultants interested in planning and supervising the restoration. Bidders are being asked for their views on how and where the restoration should be undertaken, as well as what should be done with the accompanying band organ, which provided the musical accompaniment as the carousel spun. Once a contract is signed, the restoration should be completed in about a year, Ms. Kelly said. She said the development corporation was considering seeking a corporate sponsor for the restoration and relocation of the carousel. "This is proof positive that Coney Island is going to be here in the future because the city is making this investment," she said. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/