Coney Island Nathan's Looking Good

I visited the Nathan's Famous flagship store in Coney Island a few weeks back, determined to hate it. The iconic restaurant had been closed since being hit by Hurricane Sandy, and was further decimated by a fire in May. I expected the resulting renovation to be slick and anodyne, like much of the new and soon-to-come Coney.

I was surprised by how much I liked what I saw. Let's be honest: What makes the Coney Island Nathan's great—aside from the hot dogs and fries themselves—is the iconic neon exterior. That's always been the case, and it is happily still intact. The interior of recent decades was always a study in cramped ugliness. Zero charm. The new Nathan's has been redesigned with an eye toward spaciousness and efficiency. For the first time in long memory, I didn't feel dirty and claustrophobic upon entering. There was plenty of space for the throngs and many cashier lines. I waited five minutes for my food, instead of the usual twenty.

There's also a new raw bar. A marked improvement. 

Coney Island Gets All Boring

So I rode down to Coney Island the other day, got off the train, walked through the stylish subway terminal to the intersection of Surf and Stillwell, and I saw—this.

What the hell is this totally nondescript, anonymous, uninteresting, gray-and-glass building doing on the southeast corner of Coney Island's most significant intersection?

Oh, I see from the sign in the window: Thor Equities put it there! Thor, you'll remember, is the development corporation that has been systematically ripping out the heart and soul of Coney for the past few years, buying up land, tearing down great old buildings, kicking out Astroland and doing other wonderful, soul-killing things.

This particular corner used to be the home of the Surf Hotel. It was a crummy little two-story thing, and had been left to rot for years. But it was utterly in keeping with Coney's character. This new structure is—well, how should be put it?—not.

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A Good Sign: Hallucinogenic Edition

A Flikr account called Jon & Karen's Photostream, which recently joined my Flikr group pool Lost New York City, has some nice hallucinogenic photos of Manhattan and Brooklyn neon signs I love or have loved, including Waverly Restaurant, Nathan's of Coney Island, the late Armando's of Brooklyn Heights, and, yes, our dear, departed McHale's.

Don't know how they achieved the photographic effect. Probably a simple trick that is nonetheless mystifying to me. Nice work, though. If they actually hang out at the places they photograph, I account Jon and Karen fine people indeed.

Why Change What's Perfect?

The blogs yesterday were afire with news that one hidden part of the City's rezoning package for Coney Island would all the two-story Nathan's hot dog pavillion to be converted into a 14-story tower, if the owners of the frankfurter joint so wish.

This seems like a really lousy idea. I mean, why even open that Pandora's Box? Nathan's is a near perfect icon of commerce, neon and classic Coney Island fun. In fact, it's one of the last things in Coney Island which speaks with vibrant energy of the playland the place once was. The building's been there since 1912 and I'd be surprised if the huge signs that paper the building are much younger. The whole structure gets you jazzed just to look at it.

The owner of Nathan's said that, for the time, the company has no plans for expansion. But it's hard for people to resist development bucks these days. Why did the City even open the door?