We will gladly be unhip and buy candy apples at Williams Candy. via Facebook

One particularly annoying thing about chains is that they’re all so big on “brands” and “lifestyle shopping.” You don’t just eat at Taco Bell, you have a fourth meal, for instance. And in the case of It’s Sugar, a new candy chain opening up in Coney Island, buying candy isn’t just a way to get a sugar fix, it’s a way to be hip and cool, according to their CEO. If you’re going to buy candy  in Coney, for the love of god, go anywhere else, please. (more…)

Don’t let this not happen!

Brooklyn’s been doing a hell of job coming back from Sandy, what with the grocery store re-openings and neighborhood restorations, but that doesn’t mean everything just magically goes back to the way it was. The Mermaid Parade, for instance, was already struggling before Sandy tried to drown Coney Island, and that just made things worse. There’s even a chance the parade doesn’t happen this year, but Coney Island USA is trying to cover costs with a last ditch Kickstarter. So let’s save the Mermaid Parade! (more…)

Celebratory forearm bumps for everyone! via Facebook

Summer and baseball. They go together like, well, summer and baseball. Of course, because one of New York’s teams is pure evil and the other is drowning in an ocean of debt, it can be expensive to go and enjoy a game. That is, unless you want to head down to Coney Island and watch the Cyclones. Which you should. So good thing tickets for their games go on sale next week, huh? (more…)

Whee!

Let’s take a break from being terrorized for a moment to think happy thoughts about the summer. Cotton candy, hot dogs, riding thrill rides, doing your best not to throw up in a nearby garbage can after you’ve done those three things in that order. Sadly, the costs for all that fun can add up. But what if there was a way to take a chunk out of that cost? Oh, look at that, there is. Plus, it comes with a free ride on the Cyclone. (more…)

Coney Island was already open for biz in this March 30 photo. Via NPR.

It’s summer! Well, it was for a sec, now it’s fussily raining or something. But it’s coming, oh yes, after a too-long winter cooped up huddled around Netflix for warmth. This is a good time to remind ourselves, however, that this summer is going to be different than any we’ve had before because of the harsh reality that many of our beaches, and the people who live along them year-round, are forever changed thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

Then there’s Coney which, magically, like how the subways came back sooner than they should, is already up and running again. The Freak Show is still drying out, and other spots won’t return at all, but the rides are back and the vital aorta of the tourist economy is pumping again. How? The answer is in this excellent report from NPR’s Planet Money, (a great podcast that Brokelyn has been remiss in not officially endorsing before). The answer has less to do with government bailout and and more to do with the neighborly support system that got us through this storm in the first place. (more…)

If they want bumper cars and skeeball, who are we to argue? via Facebook

OK, so it’s summer now, right? What’s that about 50 degrees this weekend? Whatever who cares. Summer! Which of course has us thinking about Coney Island. Almost 6 months after Sandy, the businesses there are still trying to get over the hump and get ready for the summer throngs. And sure, they could fill out a bunch of FEMA forms and hope that some lunatic Tea Party rep from backwater Alabama doesn’t get people to go along with the idea that sending the rest of the Sandy relief money is “against God’s will.” But they can also turn to us and ask for a little help, which is exactly what they’ve done. (more…)

The way we was

Whose fault was it that the Dodgers packed up and moved to LA? Walter O’Malley? Robert Moses? The mysterious higher powers behind all of baseball itself, cognizant of the fact that the West Coast needed baseball and the world needed the Mets? Well, we could argue about it all day. But we’d rather not. Instead we’ll happily take advantage of some nostalgia surrounding Ebbets Field’s 100th birthday, and you can to, because the Cyclones are selling ludicrously cheap tickets to mark the occasion. (more…)

Word of advice: Do NOT stuff yourself with jalapeno poppers before riding

Will the Cyclone always be king of the rides at Coney Island? A-doy, it’s only a goddamn landmark. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other puke-delivery systems good rides on Coney Island. The only problem? You have to pay for them. Bummer we know. What’s the deal with these people and wanting fiat currency in exchange for services? Well, this Sunday, you can avoid all that on at least one ride, Luna Park’s dipping, diving and spinning Air Race. (more…)

CIHP in better days (via Facebook)

Coney Island got walloped during Hurricane Sandy, but they’re still making a comeback this summer (with jobs! And an Applebees! and a shooting gallery!). They’re still making Sandy a part of their canon, though: the Coney Island History Project, which got flooded in the storm, plans to reopen on March 24 and will feature artifacts and other pieces that sustained damage. (more…)

Rebbe Pavarotti

The success, and zombie, shambling, un-killable second life of American Idol proved that people love singing competitions. Because apparently there just isn’t enough music out there? So of course it got exported to a zillion other countries, so that Armenia, Denmark and Estonia, among others found themselves inundated by amateur singers trying to hit the big time. But what about closer to home? Anything going down in our backyard? Funny you should ask, because ethnic singing competition A Jewish Star stopped in at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center to look for contestants. And the resulting video is…well, it’s certainly a video! (more…)