Walkways were above the top of the tower, as well as along each arm. Updated, 3:59 p.m. | Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, never actually rode the Coney Island Parachute Jump he was afraid, he said in a recent interview I couldn't wait to get on the thing. NYC - The Official Guide . City Room, a news blog of live reporting, features and reader conversations about New York City, has been archived. the streets at breakneck speeds, even *gasp* drinking water out of public drinking fountains. He said, in fact, that he recently spoke with someone, a representative of a European company that has offices in the United States, who said the Install new mechanisms? We too. I appreciate the stories share by everyone -- good times! It was a lot more than rides: real frozen custard (go ahead, try to find it now, even at places Horace Bullard obtained a 99-year lease on the Steeplechase site and Roller coaster enthusiast John Hunt has been buildingscale models of coasters and amusement parkattractions since he was a boyand has turned his hobby into a business. Attractions in Coney Island | Parachute Jump | NYCgo You can find the latest entries at nytimes.com/diary and on our New York section online. Its president, Sandor Kernacs, said Intamin studied the ride for the city 15 years ago, until restoration talk died out and contact broke off. Unfortunately, the garden and building in the photo have been demolished and are being replaced with a high rise residential building. [50] The reopening was delayed by disagreements between operator International Parachuting Inc. and James Strong. in 2004. Another similar attraction somewhere else had a problem so as a precaution all of these parachute jump attractions were closed. People often tell me, Well, things were different then. Yeah, they were. [114] The cheapest option, simply maintaining the structure, would have cost $10,000 a year (equivalent to $28,000 in 2021). And while visiting NYC for the first time in 2004, I enjoyed a sunny day at Coney Then the thrill of being taken up, up, up, high into the for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month", "Coney Island pays tribute to Kobe Bryant", New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Historic Structures Report: Parachute Jump, Oral histories about the Parachute Jump collected by the Coney Island History Project, "New York World's Fair 19391940 records", Coney Island, Parachute Jump, Coney Island, Kings County, NY, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parachute_Jump&oldid=1149989923, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 17:38. Imagine a carousel for grown-upsit went in Memories! He wasn't as crazy about it being a Seabee during the war and used to be planted on the ground or on the water. I was the youngest employee . I dont know why they just dont operate [106][107] Stern said he welcomed the community's proposals for reusing the Parachute Jump but other agency officials said the plans presented thus far, which included turning the Jump into a giant windmill, were "quixotic, at best". Stiff ocean breezes kept it closed much of the time. But I would also like to be able to see who is in the park and on the street too. [73] The experience was described as similar to "flying in a free fall". The Parachute Jump, which is an individual city landmark, looks pretty great in the daytime, too. It has been lit up in commemoration of events such as the death of Kobe Bryant. There is also a sequence called "Kaleidoscope" for other holidays. Never went to a single beach in the Bronx. would be out of business in weeks.. Appeared so lone and barren by day, and only comes alive at night with the magnificent lighting effects. NYC - The Official Guide. An interesting aside that is somehow always overlooked is that the Parachute Jump was originally in Flushing as part of the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. So, I have to be satisfied with memories and occasional visits to the the greatest city in the country. an amazing spectacle it must have been. The Parachute Jump never operated after the closure of Steeplechase Park on September 19, 1964. [8], The Parachute Jump is 250 feet (76m) tall,[9][10] as compared to the 1939 New York World's Fair Parachute Jump at 262 feet (80m) tall, having been topped by a 12-foot (3.7m) flagpole. of safety have changed drastically in 50 years. this amazing ride already. The european company, that has been talked about, could be Intamin from Switzerland. Thank you. A jury in federal court in Manhattan refused to award Mr. Bullard damages in the case, The Daily News reported Aside from the years and neglect and exposure to the elements that the parachute jump has suffered, Mr. Kernacs said, there is a lower public tolerance for real danger. I don't know how many times it got stuck. [15] The parachutes slowed the rider's descent and the seats would be stopped by a brake after they had fallen to 4 feet (1.2m) above ground level. at nytoday.com or in the morning, on The New York Times homepage or its New York section. In 1941, after the World's Fair, it was moved to its current location in the . The 262-foot-high Parachute Jump at Coney Island was created by Strong purely as a ride for the World's Fair. The issue here is not the actual safety of the ride relative to the original safety of the ride (though perhaps given the increase in obesity, we should consider some new factors) but that the standards This ride will probably be as safe as any of the myriad of roller coasters. We will continue to publish one item each weekday an older friend challenged (or dared) me to ride along with him. My dad was a photographer for the World Telegram and spent just about every weekend at Coney Island during the season, usually with Milton Berger at Steeplechase Park. [100] By the late 1970s, the city government wanted to build an amusement park on the land. We usually spent most of the day in Steeplechase Park, where Mom and I especially loved the caterpiller ride. [8], Functional parachutes dangled from each of the twelve sub-frames and were held open by metal rings. I would often walk to the end of the fishing pier after work and stare at the dark structure wondering what [11][12][13] Twelve drop points are at the top, marked by structural steel arms, which extend outward 45 feet (14m) from the tower's center, and support octagonal subframes at the far end of each arm. We had the whole park to ourselves! It hasn't been a functioning ride for a half-century. of the Kansas Fried Chicken chain who planned to build a new Steeplechase Park, resurrecting not just the reformers did with Times Square, turning it into Times Square, Coney Island will be scrubbed for tourists who are more interested in cleanliness than godliness. Mr. Kernacs said he plans to come to Brooklyn in the second or third week of March to study the ride, free of charge. Metropolitan Diary continues to publish! When it was windy the operators had to do test rides since the winds at the top could differ from the surface. Bensonhurst native Avella was sixteen years old when he began working on the landmark ride in 1961 after graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School. [121] These plans were delayed because of a lack of funds. [36] It had twelve 32-foot (9.8m) parachute bays;[33] while five parachutes were operational upon opening,[35] eleven would eventually be used at the Fair. I must have been very lucky. while on the train) and hope that as they change coney around they keep its very Brooklyn and very unDisney enviroment. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a retired MTA employee who drove the Mermaid Avenue bus for many years. [20], The city government questioned the tower's safety. My both parents spent lots of time with family & friends on Coney Island beach in the 1950-1960 I have old pic to prove it , I have pic of my mom & dad in front of the parachute ride she is on his shoulders you could tell just by watching the pic they had fun in those days ,, it's a beautiful thing to see something and to wish you could be there , I was born 1963 and by the time I grew up the ride was closed I've too spend time on Coney Island and always went bk to visit even living in another state when I come bk home to ny I always pass by , and go to Nathan's too , the best hot dogs . morning and a round-up in Monday's print edition. [78] On September 20, 1964, Steeplechase Park closed for the last time,[79][80] and the next year, the property was sold to developer Fred Trump. What Im saying, he added, is theres a remote, the remotest chance that it could be made a ride again..