At The Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge

Yesterday about 2500 people took part in the annual Polar Bear Plunge during sub-freezing temperatures at Coney Island, where lifeguards warned participants not to proceed deeper than their waist and not to remain in the water for more than one minute.

61 Hot Dogs In Ten Minutes

New York City's most disgusting holiday tradition took place at Coney Island yesterday where "competitive eater" Joey Chestnut won for the eighth consecutive year by downing 61 Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes.

Beyonce - XO

From her "surprise" album.

New Record: 69 Hot Dogs

Easily the most bizarre NYC holiday tradition.

The Leaning Tower Of Coney

The amusement park at Brooklyn's Coney Island was evacuated yesterday after boardwalk strollers reported that the 275-foot tall Astro Tower ride, which closed five years ago, was swaying and "making funny noises."  The fire department inspected the site and found "no immediate danger."  The park should reopen today. No, thank you.

Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge 2013

It shrinks? Like a frightened turtle!

NYC As An Amusement Park

(Via Gothamist)

68 Hot Dogs In 10 Minutes

One of those NYC's holiday traditions I just don't get.

Shrinkage-Fest 2011

Last Sunday's mid-blizzard dip was only a trial run for yesterday's massive attendance at the annual Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge, where thousands endured the needle-sting of the 35-degree North Atlantic for the bragging right of having done so. Oh, the shrinkage! Like a frightened turtle!

(Via - Gothamist)

Coney Island Polar Bears Swim

In a blizzard, no less.

Improv Everywhere - Black Tie Beach

Could It Be Magic? Yes, Yes It Could.

Last night DC blogger Jimbo, Dr. Jeff and I made the 90-minute haul out to Coney Island to watch Donna Summer's free concert at Seaside Park. And holy crap, what an enormous crowd. Easily the largest outdoor show I've ever been to. We couldn't get within a half-mile of the stage and watched much of the show from a sidewalk outside the seating area. Donna, as always, was in superb voice with just as much power and clarity as when she first hit the charts 34 years ago. The set list was almost identical to the one of her Jones Beach 2008 show, with the noted exception of the substitution of her 1975 Barry Manilow cover, Could It Be Magic, for her 1999 smash, Con Te Partiro. I stood there covered in goosebumps, having never heard Could It Be Magic live. The clips below are from YouTube member DJDavis254. Until last year, I hadn't seen Donna Summer in concert since 1979, now I've seen her three times in 14 months. Go me.

Polar Bear Plunge 2009

Hundreds of New Yorkers made their annual Polar Bear Plunge into the icy waters off Coney Island yesterday despite the near-zero temperatures.

The End Of Astroland

Coney Island's Astroland, the nation's most legendary boardwalk arcade, closed forever this weekend although some still hope that it will someday return. The Wonder Wheel and the world famous Cyclone roller coaster are landmarked and must remain where they are. The Astroland property is set to become a giant "destination" ocean side resort with luxury condos. Sigh. This year's extraordinarily cool summer sent Coney Island out on a low, attendance dipped to a mere 4.5 million, versus 15.5 million only two years ago.

It Don't Gitmo Better

New on Coney Island's boardwalk, the Waterboard Thrill Ride, where beach lovers can add torture to their mix of sun, surf, and sand.

If you climb up a few cinderblock steps to the small window, you can look through the bars at a scene meant to invoke a Guantánamo Bay interrogation. A lifesize figure in a dark sweatshirt, the hood drawn low over his face, leans over another figure in an orange jumpsuit, his face covered by a towel and his body strapped down on a tilted surface.

Feed a dollar into a slot, the lights go on, and Black Hood pours water up Orange Jumpsuit’s nose and mouth while Orange Jumpsuit convulses against his restraints for 15 seconds. O.K., kids, who wants more cotton candy!

The more you pay, the more the robot dude gets tortured. (Not unlike the nearby Shoot The Freak exhibit, except there you're shooting a live freak.) The proprietors of Waterboard Thrill Ride originally wanted to waterboard actual customers, but decided there might be a teensy legal problem there. But the dummies don't seem to provide much of a thrill.

Many people stroll by the installation without even stopping to look. As for those who do, Jodi Taylor, house manager for the freak show, said: “Adults find it very shocking, and kids are like, ‘That stinks.’ They’re so desensitized. They have no idea what the ethical issues are. They wish there was water spraying in their face.”

Last Monday a family of former New Yorkers now living in Israel climbed up the cinderblock steps and peered in the barred window. The first thing they saw in the darkened room was the orange-jumpsuited detainee — and Mr. Powers’s son, sitting atop him with a merry grin on his face. (His father was tinkering in the background.)

“I love it,” said Ricki Rosen, the mother of the family. “Hilarious!” Her daughter asked what it was all about, and Ms. Rosen responded: “Waterboarding, Sweetie, is a kind of torture where they pour water on people’s faces so they feel like they’re drowning. But then there was a big controversy because a lot of Americans are saying you shouldn’t torture people even if they are terrorists.” She paused. “The baby is hilarious!”

"The baby is hilarious." Headdesk.

Bears Invade Coney Island

Yesterday hundreds of members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club made their annual dip in the 42 degree surf. Over $30,000 in pledges was raised for Camp Sunshine, a camp for seriously ill children and their families in Casco, Maine.

And then all the bears went to beer bust.

I've always wanted to do the dip, but somehow I've never been in the mood to jump in the ocean at dawn on New Year's Day. Odd, that.

25th Annual Mermaid Parade

Today the Farmboyz and I schlepped out to Coney Island for the gayest not-really-gay event in NYC, the 25th Annual Mermaid Parade, the first time any of us had attended. The day started a little bit chilly with the giant clock (see below) facing Central Park reading 57 degrees. In June. But by the time we reached the beach, the temp was a pleasant 73 and we exited the D train to find the barricades across Surf Avenue had just been raised, giving us an immediate front row place (facing Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs) from which to watch the parade, a lucky thing too, because within 15 minutes the crowd was 15-deep behind us.

This year King Neptune was played by one of the Mythbusters dudes, a joke on the rumor that this will be the final Mermaid Parade due to the impending demolition of Astroland, which as of last week appears to have been given a one-year reprieve. Over a couple of hours we viewed topless mermaids, buttless mermen, and more than a few mertrannies. Very Mardi Gras At-The-Beach - I even caught a strand of beads. The highlight was the We Like Dick contingent (bottom right), headed by some guy named Dick. Really. We packed it in before the parade finished, mindful of tomorrow's much longer event.