Gowanus Lounge: Serving Brooklyn

Entries Tagged as 'Thor Equities'

Weekend Team Thor Update

September 8th, 2007 · Comments Off on Weekend Team Thor Update

There is an important update in the still developing story of the roster of the Thor Equities Coney Island team. You might recall that, on Wednesday, Lee Silberstein of the Marino Organization, which has handled public relations for the embattled Coney Island redevelopment plan, let people know that he was no longer on the Thor […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

More Departures from Thor’s Coney Island Team

September 7th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Yesterday, we noted in a post on Curbed that Thor Equities and developer Joe Sitt had parted company with spokesperson Lee Silberstein and the Marino Organization. It was unclear who had initiated the split. This morning we can report, based on a tip from another reliable source, that Thor has also parted ways with Kramer […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Thor Hits YouTube (Part II) with Mermaid Parade Vid

August 10th, 2007 · Comments Off on Thor Hits YouTube (Part II) with Mermaid Parade Vid

Enjoy. Go over directly if the embed is bothering you by clicking here.

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Thor Hits YouTube (Part I) with Monday Movie Madness Promo

August 10th, 2007 · Comments Off on Thor Hits YouTube (Part I) with Monday Movie Madness Promo

Found on the YouTube and also noted by Kinetic Carnival. Visit it directly by clicking here if there is a problem with the embed.

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Coney Island Circus #1: Tent Displaces Demolition Equipment

August 4th, 2007 · Comments Off on Coney Island Circus #1: Tent Displaces Demolition Equipment

We were going to make this a “Photo Du Jour,” but it’s way too on-topic not to merit a few extra words. This is the scene on the lot next to the Thor Equities site where the Cole Bothers Circus is set up through tomorrow. This is some of the demolition equipment that has been […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Coney Island Death Watch: Plywood Comes to Shore Hotel

August 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off on Coney Island Death Watch: Plywood Comes to Shore Hotel

We haven’t done a Coney Island Death Watch item in a long time because the active demolition and evictions by Thor Equities took a hiatus for a bit. We take no pleasure in bringing it back. However, now that plywood has gone up on the Henderson’s Building, we got word that plywood is also going […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Coney Island Watchers Angry About Latest Thor Issue

July 26th, 2007 · Comments Off on Coney Island Watchers Angry About Latest Thor Issue

Yesterday’s story about how Thor reached an advanced point of negotiation with Coney Island USA about selling a building to them and, then, backed off as the contract was about to be signed has provoked quite a reaction from the Coney Island crew via the Coney Island Message Board. The negative reaction to this latest […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Demolition Porn #2: Red Hook Edition

July 23rd, 2007 · Comments Off on Demolition Porn #2: Red Hook Edition

Taking down the old Revere Sugar plant in Red Hook has been quite the task. Demolition started in December on the dome that had defined the local waterfront for a long time, then moved to the the assorted factory buildings. The big steel frame building is now coming down. In fact, as you can see […]

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Tags: Red Hook · Thor Equities

Circus Coming to Coney Says They Still Use Elephants

July 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Circus Coming to Coney Says They Still Use Elephants

We received an email from Renee Storey, the Vice President for Administration of Cole Bros. Circus, which Thor Equities is brining to Coney Island for a week at the end of July. You might recall that back in May we ran a post dealing with old allegations of animal abuse against the circus. Several of […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Will All of Wonder Wheel Park Fall to Thor?

July 14th, 2007 · Comments Off on Will All of Wonder Wheel Park Fall to Thor?

With the purchase of some of the Wonder Wheel Park land in Coney Island, Thor Equities would be in control of almost all of the heart of the amusement district along the boardwalk. Sarah Ryley filled in some valuable detail with her piece in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle yesterday, including the raising the obvious possibility […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Bizarre Astroland Saga Continues

July 13th, 2007 · 7 Comments

If we were to find a way to musically tell the Astroland story, we would find a tenor to stand on a stage and sing some opera about it. Seriously. The bizarre Astroland saga–the sale of the property to Thor Equities for $30 million, intimations by the owner that she had no choice other than […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Sitt Speaks in Coney Island and Says He Doesn’t Want to Build Without "Support"

June 27th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Developer Joe Sitt spent two hours in Coney Island last night making his pitch to residents and reporters and trying to drum up support for his embattled redevelopment plans. “It’s in your hands,” Mr. Sitt said of the future of project, noting that he is reluctant to build without the support of residents, the press […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Will the Freakenspeile Tower and Bizarre Bazaar Come to Coney Island?

June 27th, 2007 · Comments Off on Will the Freakenspeile Tower and Bizarre Bazaar Come to Coney Island?

The Coney Island presentation made by developer Joe Sitt and by Thinkwell Creative Director Chris Durmick about Thor Equities Coney Island plans contained a number of new details. The presentation leaned heavily on the designs for Stillwell Avenue, the Bowery and a passage that has been dubbed Front Street as well as Coney Island Park. […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Developer Joe Sitt Speaks in Coney Island: The Video

June 27th, 2007 · Comments Off on Developer Joe Sitt Speaks in Coney Island: The Video

In this clip from last night’s meeting in Coney Island at which developer Joe Sitt spoke at length, Mr. Sitt notes criticism of his project on “the blogs” and in the press and says that he will not build in Coney Island if he doesn’t have support from the community and “to some degree” the […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Thor Shows Its Stuff in Coney Island

June 26th, 2007 · 2 Comments

[Photo courtesy of lexacor/flickr] The sharp eyes and lens of lexacor caught this image of a “Thor Summer 2007” t-shirt in Coney Island on Mermaid Parade Day. While anti-Thor forces used the day to protest Thor’s plans in Coney, the developer had a presence too. Thor sent in the parade’s only bona fide marching band, […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Thor Strategy Not Winning All Hearts & Minds in Coney Island

June 25th, 2007 · 3 Comments

As we noted yesterday, there were some indications around Coney Island on Mermaid Parade Day of continued opposition to and skepticism about Thor Equities big redevelopment plan. The most, uh, interesting one we saw belonged to this gentleman who came out in a Viking helmet and eventually pulled his pants down to reveal this. We […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Mermaid Mania: The Thor & Sitt Protestors

June 24th, 2007 · Comments Off on Mermaid Mania: The Thor & Sitt Protestors

It’s fair to say this is the first time the Mermaid Parade had a little bit of an anti-development flavor. About a half dozen groups of people in the parade, including a large Save Coney Island contingent, brought an anti-Thor Equities and anti-developer Joe Sitt flavor to the event. We’ve got some pics from the […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Coney #2: Thor Pitching Plans in Coney Next Week

June 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on Coney #2: Thor Pitching Plans in Coney Next Week

Oh, yes, we’re going to be beating the Thor Equities/Coney Island drum very, very loudly on this Tuesday. What else can we do when there is so much Coney Island news to share? In any case, Thor will doing “a presentation on its vision for the future of Coney Island” on Tuesday (6/26). It will […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Coney #1: Thor Tries New Public Relations Approach

June 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments

We have, over time, put Thor Equities proposals for and actions in Coney Island under a microscope. More than once, we have taken them to task for overlooking blogs in their communications strategy, even though online coverage has formed the foundation upon which other coverage has been built. So, we found it fascinating this weekend […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Redone Coney Island Plans: The Devil is in the Details

June 18th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Yesterday, we received an email from Thor Equities spokesperson Tom Corsillo noting that Thor had dropped housing from its Coney Island plans and that the new plan would conform to the city’s strategic plan for Coney Island. Today, of course, the story is all over the press, with most headlines noting that Thor has backed […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Will Mr. Sitt "Drop Housing" in Coney Island?

June 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Will Mr. Sitt "Drop Housing" in Coney Island?

We were reading the new Time Magazine story about Coney Island, wondering if it contained anything new. “Uncertainty shrouds the original America’s Playground…” Blah, blah, blah. “..no one is quite sure what will become of it in the fall.” Blah, blah, blah. “Coney Island has fallen long and hard from its apex…” Blah, blah, blah. […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Checking in on the Revere Plant Demolition

June 12th, 2007 · Comments Off on Checking in on the Revere Plant Demolition

Thor Equities tear down of the old Revere Sugar Plant in Red Hook is quite the job. Workers have been at it since December, when they started on the iconic Revere Dome. Then, they moved on to other tanks on the property and, then, brick buildings. It looks like they’re be at it for most […]

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Tags: Red Hook · Thor Equities

A Different Take on Coney Redevelopment…by the Same Writer

June 12th, 2007 · 1 Comment

Yesterday, we posted about and linked a very positive piece about Coney Island redevelopment and developer Joe Sitt that ran all over the country via AP. The article was very bullish on the Coney remake and cast the developer–who’s taken a few bumps here and there in the NY press and blogs–in a very positive […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

Sitt Speaks and AP Listens

June 11th, 2007 · 3 Comments

The only thing we can say about the AP story about Joe Sitt and Coney Island is that you’ve got to read it. You can draw your own conclusions when you do. Here are a few excerpts, highlighting Mr. Sitt’s comments: “Yeah, OK, it’s a little bit grimy, etcetera,” says Sitt, his voice rising with […]

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Tags: coney island · Thor Equities

The Most Depressing Red Hook Renderings. Ever.

June 5th, 2007 · 1 Comment

These renderings, which went up on Curbed late yesterday afternoon, may be some of the most depressing we’ve ever seen. A Curbed reader commented that the project they represent is dead and, if so, that’s a good thing. We’ve joke more than once about how Ikea represented the New Jerseyfication of the Red Hook waterfront, […]

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Tags: Architecture · Red Hook · Thor Equities