Near the end of the tour, we encountered an artist working on the beautiful murals which decorate the Coney Island USA building. She was decked out in an old paint-splattered Mermaid Parade t-shirt and dock shoes, busy putting the finishing touches on a vignette on the east side of the building. I learned that this was none other than Prof. Marie Roberts, the Coney Island artist in residence who has been largely responsible for last 10+ years of iconic Coney Island imagery.

Of course, I asked her for a portrait. She graciously obliged and smiled.

Born and raised in Coney Island, Marie’s family has had strong ties to the community for several generations and her art reflects this deep bond with the landscape. She says that her “father’s family was involved in Coney Island at the turn of the 20th century; my grandfather was acting battalion chief of the Coney Island District until his death in 1924. My Uncles Harry and Guy were at Dreamland the night of the fire. I have an uncle buried in the Gravesend Cemetery. My father claimed he never got out of the 6th grade because he was too busy watching the horses cross the finish line at the Gravesend track. My Uncle Lester was the talker for the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in the 1920’s.”

I also hear she has loads of legendary stories about growing up in a sideshow family, many of which surface as inspiration in her beautiful sideshow banner work. Be sure to check it out on the web here or in person at Surf Avenue and 12th Street!

And if you’re in the ‘hood, definitely go check out some more of Joel’s photos at Almondine, the French bakery in DUMBO, where they’ll be on exhibition for the rest of the summer!

Ed recently gave us the heads up and graciously offered to share his photos and some thoughts. Read about the event below, or head on over to his blog for more!

Ed writes:

This was not a reactionary protest against BP or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Hands Across the Sand was conceived before that and the first protest was held across Florida on February 13th, 2010. The protest was a simple one. At noon, the gathered people on over 700 beaches in the USA, over 900 total around the world, formed a single line facing the sea and joined hands for 15 minutes.

To me it was the simple act of the joining of hands between all sorts of people, nevermind their age, race, ethnicity, that was the most powerful and symbolic. Is a line of people in the sand going to actually do anything about this? Arguably not. Many don’t have the time or money to go down to Florida and help with the clean-up, and there are agencies much better at doing so even as it proves difficult. However, those who gathered still want their feelings to be known. The fact that this was a huge event across the country, and even world, shows that people really care about this. The coming together of people saying to industry and government that now is the time to take action, please take notice!

My own feeling though is something like helplessness. The Deepwater Horizon incident is just one example of some of the profligate practices and malpractices pursued by companies in the rush for the money as they compete for our dwindling resources. I don’t know what the solution is, this kind of engineering and science is not my field, but in the case of the Florida Gulf there needs to be one, and quick. A hugely pressing issue though is that we really need to accelerate our investigations into better, safer, and less destructive methods for a lot of our industries, not just oil. I am sure there is opportunity for entrepreneurship out there if people look past what we already know!

Make sure to check out the latest in the Flickr pool, or check back in with us here for more later this week!

Untitled, by Joanna Pan:

Untitled, by Javier11238 and “Electric Blue,” by SpecialKRB:

“Strolling Down the Avenue,” by Harris Graber:

Untitled, by Joanna Pan:

Untitled, by Alec McClure:

“The Mermaid Parade,” by pixelateit:

Today’s round-up may be monochromatic, but what it lacks in color, it more than makes up in vibrant personality! Thanks to all the talented photographers below for their great shots. Enjoy!

“The Life Aquatic,” by Lucy Aboytes:

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz and Untitled, by Alec McClure:

“Jasmine,” by poor.humble:

Untitled, both images by Leanne Staples:

“Jellyfish,” by Joanna Pan:

Lots of FTLOB photographers trekked out to the shore for the meet-up event, and I can’t wait to share some of their best shots. I encourage you to check back all week for more, and feel free to browse the Flickr pool if you’d like to get a head start!

Without further ado, here’s the first installment of photos from the 2010 Mermaid Parade!

Untitled, by Barry Yanowitz (also featured on Brownstoner!):

“Basking in the Afterglow,” by yjmarigold and “Hustler” by poor.humble:

“Lovelies,” by poor.humble:

Untitled, both images by ifotog:

“Sandy Warhols,” by Barry Yanowitz:

There are many better informed sites where you can read about the details of the controversy, but what about the casual Coney fan? I love going out to the shore and enjoying concerts or ballgames at KeySpan. I thoroughly enjoy people-watching along the boardwalk, especially at the Mermaid Parade this weekend! And of course, summer isn’t summer without an icy cold drink and a hot dog at Nathan’s… as long as you get a side of those piping hot crinkle fries with a little plastic red fork.

But Thor Equities CEO Joe Sitt begs to differ: he recently said in an interview with NY1: “Every one of these buildings is just horrible, rundown relics with nothing exciting about them. I hate to say it, but the great buildings of Coney Island disappeared 80 years ago.”

Save Coney Island is trying to fight back, though, with a proposed historic district, a massive PR campaign and some good old-fashioned grassroots organization. To find out more about their proposal and see some beautiful vintage photographs, check out this brochure. And to find out what you can do to help out, click here.

I took my camera along for the tour, so check out the shots below for more information about what’s at stake!

Juan Rivera kicks off the tour with a brief history of the Shore Theatre, and how Nathan’s hot dogs came to be so famous.

Built in 1925, The Shore Theatre watches over the corner of Surf and Stillwell. Originally a Lowes Theatre, it once held a capacity of 2500 for a grand variety of live shows and movies.

The wood-framed Shore Hotel, built in 1903, and the Herman Popper building, 1904. The former housed small-scale hotels and the latter, a distillery and tavern.

Another shot of the Popper building, now next door to a bumper car funhouse.

The Child’s Restaurant, built in 1917. Once a family-friendly oasis, it’s now home to the Coney Island Museum and an active sideshow.

I immediately reached out to find out what he thinks is so special about this pier where locals go to fish for striped bass, bluefish, and fluke. Triebensee replied:

I’m drawn to the Steeplechase Pier because it’s an ideal place to observe the great diversity of modern New Yorkers both interact and respectfully avoid each other while performing ancient rituals. The fishermen and women there kibbitz when appropriate, yet allow each other enough space to focus on the task at hand and contemplate. All ages, ethnicities, languages and lifestyles are represented.

Truly this diversity is evident in the photoset below, which he has graciously allowed me to share. Please be sure to click through each photo to see the textures in detail, and if you’d like to photograph the Pier for yourself, come join us this weekend for our Coney Island meet-up!

Back then it was known, and fondly remembered by some, as Anniversary Day. Anniversary Day is celebrated annually on the first Thursday in June, commemorating the founding of the First Sunday School on Long Island. The first parade was held in Brooklyn June 1829.

To commemorate this year’s 181st annual Brooklyn-Queens Day, Peter also unearthed the wonderful photographs below which feature a wide range of Brooklyn pride and history. For more reading, I suggest this great line-up of archived Brooklyn Daily Eagle articles about Anniversary Day (mostly from the 1800′s) over at Gothamist. Hope you enjoy!

The first American ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) on display at Coney Island in the 1950′s. The 80-foot missile was set to launch on May 24th, Armed Services Day.

Celebrating the Dodgers Pennant win in 1949.

At Pitkin Avenue and Watkins Street in Brownsville, 1957. This was Nathan’s biggest competitor and it eventually became the Papaya King in the city.

Sutter Avenue in Brownsville, 1949.

Lafayette Avenue and Grand Avenue in Bed-Stuy, 1929.

Come one, come all, and prepare to be amazed by the costumes and floats that make up the nation’s largest art parade and one of New York City’s most beloved events. This year, Lou Reed will be presiding as King Neptune, and the belle o’ the ball Queen Mermaid will be Laurie Anderson. We’ll meet up a half hour or so before the parade to try and score a good spot along the route, and leave plenty of time afterwards to grab a bite and a cold drink along the boardwalk! Can’t wait to see you there!

If you’d like to sign up to receive news about future meet-ups and events, make sure to submit your email address in the sidebar or become a fan on Facebook!

Date: Saturday, June 19th
Time: 1:30pm
Location: In front of the Shore Theater, at Surf and Stillwell Ave (map)
Via MTA: N / Q / F / D to Coney Island – Stillwell Ave

For a taste of the awesomely bizarre event that is the Mermaid Parade, check out these great shots below!

“The Greatest Show on Earth, 2009,” by Genial23:

“Mermaid Parade, 2008,” by Genial23: