Gowanus Lounge: Serving Brooklyn

Thor Tries to Win More Hearts & Minds in Battle for Coney Island

January 3rd, 2009 · 7 Comments


[All photos courtesy of Pablo Jonesy/Coney Island Message Board]

The latest from Coney Island came yesterday when Dick Zigun of Coney Island USA reported that a firm working for Thor Equities had put up no trespassing signs on buildings that also have huge Thor FOR LEASE signs. (If we had to do PR for Mr. Sitt, we would jump from the Astrotower wearing lead rings around our necks just to make sure there was NO chance of survival.) We understand (sort of) the practical purpose, but we also know that Mr. Sitt surely knows the photos will be all over the internet making him look even more spiteful and vindictive than he already appears. On the other hand, this is a guy who got himself pictured as the Grinch on Christmas Eve in the New York Post in a story written by Rich Calder. If this is a negotiating strategy on the part of Mr. Sitt, it is one of the most deranged and bizarre we have witnessed in three decades of urban reporting.

Tags: coney island · Joe Sitt · Thor Equities

7 responses so far ↓

  • 1 MUSCLE13 // Jan 3, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    It’s very simple and straightforward. Thor is forcing the city to rezone the area like it should have been done 30 or 40 years ago, since it has been a winter ghost town our entire lives. The simple fact is nobody goes to Coney Island 9 months a year (other that New Years Day to swim) 🙂

    And the strategy is working

    Brooklyn Paper excerpt –

    “The latest shuttering of businesses on the Boardwalk is yet another sign that it’s necessary for the city’s plan to revitalize Coney Island to succeed so that we can bring certainty to the area and give Coney Island a chance to grow and thrive,” said Janel Patterson, a spokeswoman for the Economic Development Corporation.

    http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/1/32_1_mm_boardwalk.html

    All those beautiful winter photos of Coney that you post here on Gowanus Lounge show one thing – A Deserted Coney Island.

    No jobs, no economy, no people all winter. You don’t get it Robert, and probably never will. But thats ok because it’s going to change! Thank G-D!

    MUSCLE13 – A 3rd generation Brooklynite

  • 2 Jack // Jan 3, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    This is hilarious it’s so tragic. Does Thor consider photography from public streets to be “trespassing”? Or are those signs set to dissuade renters and shop owners for even attempting to get inside the buildings they have worked out of.

    FWIW, as far as photography goes, Thor does not own public streets or the boardwalk itself. If anyone approaches anyone taking pictures and asks them to stop, be aware NOBODY has the right to stop you. Stand your ground and just tell them you can’t be preventing from photographing items from a public street.

  • 3 Jack // Jan 3, 2009 at 7:07 pm

    “MUSCLE13 – A 3rd generation Brooklynite”

    And 100% grade-A classic abusive Brooklyn loon. MUSCLE13 is a very well known troll on the Coney Island USA message boards, has been banned dozens of times and is most likely a condo or landowner from Sheepshead Bay who doesn’t want his “valuable” investments to loose money.

    The proof to his lunacy is not only is he defending this abusive behavior from Thor, he also ignores the reality right next door to Coney Island: The revitalization of Brighton Beach PROVES that rezoning and city involvement is not needed to clean up and bring a dead neighborhood back to life.

    The Russian’s immigrated to Brighton Beach, took a neighborhood that so many left for dead that practically all of the old-school Jewish business owners up and left and they completely turned it around and MADE IT A DESTINATION!

    No rezoning. No nothing. Just people with skills being left to do what they do best and building a community.

    Joe Sitt and Thor has shown that they have LESS LOVE for the borough they came from than immigrants who barely came off of the boat.

    Seriously, MUSCLE13 you and Joe Sitt are the only geniuses constantly bringing up your heritage as an excuse for EVERY argument, but somehow people who are first generation in America can see value where YOU DON’T and create great things.

  • 4 Bruce // Jan 3, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    simple math, post Sitt coney island, negative growth, and he is the savior?

  • 5 anonymouse // Jan 4, 2009 at 9:44 am

    rumor has it sitt spent 55k on the new coney signage and it’s custom made to exactly fit each storefront! true or not, it was paid for and put up in the very last days of 2008. is this a scheme having to do with getting a tax break or zoning variance? in other words, the signs are proof thor advertised the property but unable to rent at the rate they need to get,therefor evidence in Thor’s possible application for a variance to bust the c-7?

  • 6 lefty // Jan 9, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I don’t think rich calder really says nice things about Sitt I think he just keeps writing propaganda articles making bloomberg look like a hero and offering false hope about whats going on. It’s fluff.

  • 7 lefty // Jan 9, 2009 at 2:14 am

    Oh and to the musclehead….The for lease signs dont prove we need to redevelop it proves that greed has taken over that area. period. if the businesses went out of business due to a lack of business that’d be another story.