Though no longer in Asser Levy Park (for now), Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz returns for the 33rd time with his Seaside Summer Concert Series in Coney Island in 2011. Now located at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue (next to the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones), there will be free shows every Thursday through August 18. All shows start at 7:30 PM.

The series kicks off right on July 14 with a free show by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and ends with one by Cheap Trick! Full schedule, mystery night included, and more info, below...

Continue reading "2011 Seaside Summer Concert Series lineup (free shows in Coney Island - Joan Jett & Cheap Trick included)"

Marty Markowitz @ the 2010 Mermaid Parade (more by Chris La Putt)

Local synagogues and worshipers filed a lawsuit filed today that threatens to pull the plug on Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's longtime Coney Island summer concert series - along with his $64 million plan to expand them with a new amphitheater.

The suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, contends that the existing series violate a city law prohibiting amplified sound within 500 feet of religious institutions when they are in session. It seeks a court order to block future concerts.

Two synagogues -- Sea Breeze Jewish Center and Temple Beth Abraham - are across the street and about 300 feet away from the existing band shell used for concerts at Asser Levy Park. Both say they host services daily.

The seaside concert series is set to kick off its 32nd year of free shows - the 20th at Asser Levy - on July 15 with performances by Neil Sedaka and Brenda Lee.

For decades, no one challenged the concerts, but now the synagogues and many Brighton Beach residents who reside in the high-rises next to Asser Levy Park are furious over the Beep's plan to expand the shows with a new 8,000-seat amphitheater. [NY Post] (thx CJ)

The Neil Sedaka/Brenda Lee kick off show on July 15th is just one of seven Thursday night concerts scheduled for Asser-Levy Park this year, and, as the article says, the synagogue members are just pissed at Marty's plan to replace the current bandshell with the new amphitheater. In response to that Marty told the Post, "I never would have thought that in my lifetime a Jewish synagogue would try to take away joy and happiness from tens of thousands of Brooklynites out of spite."

Continue reading "local synagogues suing to try & stop Coney Island concerts "

Asser-Levy Park bandshell (Lisanne!)

The initial/partial schedule for the 2010 Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser-Levy Park in Coney Island is posted below. The series of free shows kicks off on July 15th with Neil Sedaka and Brenda Lee. After that, there's a July 22nd show with the "Beach Boys" (Mike Love/Bruce Johnston) and Happy Together Tour (Flo & Eddie of the Turtles, Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, & others), a July 29th show with George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and date-TBA shows with Belinda Carlisle (whose GoGos tour was recently canceled) and secret guest (the B-52s?), John Legend (who plays Brooklyn Bowl tonight) and Aretha Franklin, plus Latin Night. (schedule via Sheapsheadbites).

The Seaside concerts happen Thursdays at 7:30pm at Asser Levy/Seaside Park (West 5th Street and Surf Avenue) in Coney Island/Brighton Beach, across the street from the New York Aquarium. For now they still happen in the above-pictured bandshell, though things may get fancier in the future.

There's also the associated 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series, which happens Mondays at Wingate Field (located on Brooklyn Avenue between Rutland Road and Winthrop Street opposite Kings County Hospital). That kicks off with George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and The Ohio Players on July 12th. Acts for the other nights of the series are TBA. Dates are below.

The full lineup (with most of the schedule) is posted below...

Continue reading "initial Coney Island & Wingate Field 2010 free concert lineups ("Beach Boys", Belinda Carlisle, Neil Sedaka & more) "

Hall & Oates, Halloween 2007 (more photos)

As previously reported the national Blondie/Pat Benatar/Donnas tour will be making a free stop at Coney Island's Asser Levy/Seaside Park on Thursday, August 13th. That's one of the free shows at this year's Seaside Concert Series, running Thursdays at the Brooklyn park (which may soon be an amphitheater). Other 2009 acts include Creedence Clearwater Revival Revisited, Daryl Hall & John Oates, and Donna Summer.

Full schedule below...

Continue reading "2009 Seaside Summer Concert Series lineup (free shows in Coney Island - Hall & Oates, Donna Summer included) "

Two competing impressions of the new amphitheater planned for Asser Levy Seaside Park -- one fanciful, the other nightmarish -- collided head-on in Coney Island last week at a contentious and often ugly meeting of Community Board 13's parks committee, held at the New York Aquarium's Education Hall.

The world-famous Cyclone might be located right next door, but it was no match for the thundering roar that residents opposed to the plan produced.

One thing has emerged from the cacophony since: while residents living near the park view the amphitheater as a $64 million millstone tied around the community's neck, Borough Hall views it as the gleaming gateway to a new and reinvigorated Coney Island.

"There is a sea change that is about to happen," Borough Hall spokesperson Laura Sinagra told this newspaper. "Coney Island is going to enter another heyday and this [amphitheater] is going to be a part of that."

Planners are anticipating breaking ground on the new amphitheater by the end of the summer, but profound questions about the project remain...[YourNabe.com, May 28, 2009]

In related news, the Mermaid Parade and the Siren Festival are back this year.

"For the first time ever, two pioneering rock legends, Blondie and Pat Benatar, will share the stage on the Call Me Invincible tour. They will be joined by special guests The Donnas. They will embark on a trek across the U.S., beginning in Saratoga, CA on July 21st and ending August 23rd in Houston, TX. The Blondie and Benatar ticket gives fans of all ages three decades of hits from the two female rock icons for the price of one! Says Blondie front woman Deborah Harry, "Pat Benatar is not only a friend, but a fearless female rocker who has entertained me and her wealth of fans for so many years. This will be a reunion for us both and being able to bring our two shows to fans across the country is very exciting!" Between Blondie and Benatar, the tour will feature songs from a combined ten Platinum albums, eight #1 Hits and countless other favorites including "Heart of Glass," "Heartbreaker," "Call Me," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Rapture," "Invincible," "One Way or Another" and "Love is a Battlefield." Pat Benatar adds, "Deborah and I have been friends forever. I'm thrilled that we're finally getting an opportunity to tour together, it should be a blast." The tour also showcases original artwork created by New Orleans artist, Tim Neil. His unique design will be the recognizable image of the tour featuring the clever blending of both iconic faces and will also be available for purchase on select merchandise items.

The Brooklyn stop on this tour is a free show in Coney Island's Asser Levy Park on August 13th! All dates below...

Continue reading "Blondie, Pat Benatar & the Donnas - 2009 Tour Dates (includes a free show in Coney Island) "

Brian Wilson show in Coney Island - July 17, 2008 (Rubys Host)

Borough President Marty Markowitz brought home nearly $90 million worth of bacon in capital funding from the fiscal year 2009 city budget, according to Borough Hall documents.

Leading the charge were two of Markowitz's pet projects: a new amphitheater at Asser Levy Park in Coney Island ($29.3 million) and renovations to the historic Loew's Kings Theatre on Flatbush Avenue ($10.75 million).

"The Coney Island Center will be a much-needed community resource as well as bring to Coney Island the kind of state-of-the-art performance facility Brooklyn deserves," said Markowitz, who has been holding a summer concert series in the park since he took office.

"New York City's first covered, outdoor performance space will make our borough a natural stop on the summer concert circuit for entertainers who now play Jones Beach and Westbury Theater and the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey," he added.

Markowitz said the amphitheatre will also serve as "a cherished landmark at the gateway to the revitalized Coney Island, and help to ensure Coney remains the 'Playground of America' for this and future generations."

According to sources, the proposed amphitheatre will have an 8,000 seating capacity, and a schematic design is in process now with a groundbreaking expected in late summer 2009. [Your Nabe]