[NYguy]

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...tures-to-close

Coney Island fixtures to close



Jim Shannon sits in the 86-year-old Ruby's bar, where he has been a patron for 50 years, during a rally against the proposal to permanently shutter the famed Coney Island establishment on Nov. 6, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. A number of Coney Island boardwalk businesses including the iconic Ruby's bar have lost their leases in recent days as development plans for Coney Island take hold.




Supporters gather in Ruby's bar during a rally against the proposal to permanently shutter the famed Coney Island establishment on Nov. 6.


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http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...s_bar_con.html
'They're ripping the heart out of the island,' says customer of booted Ruby's Bar & Grill




A tearful Melody Sarrel is consoled by Jimmy Shannon, 74, and his son, Jason, 35. Sarrel is co-owner of Ruby's Bar & Grill, a Coney Island fixture that is being evicted after 76 years.

BY Jake Pearson and James Fanelli
November 7th 2010

A wake of sorts was held on the Coney Island Boardwalk Saturday as Ruby's Bar & Grill had its final last call.

The beloved ocean-front dive is being evicted after 76 years and hundreds of loyal beer swillers huddled inside to protest, mourn and swap memories.

"They are ripping the heart out of Coney Island," said a shirtless Frank Colorio, 68, drinking a Budweiser.

"Ruby's is one of the greatest bars alive. This is a tradition, a way of life."

Jason Shannon, 35, and his dad, Jimmy, 74, have been warming the barstools at Ruby's for decades. A picture of them is among the thousands that fill the walls.

"I see all the memories on the wall," the younger Shannon said said. "What the heck are we gonna do now?

"It's like when Brooklyn lost Ebbets Field," he said, referring to the Dodgers' old stadium. "We ain't never gonna forgive them for this."

Amusement giant Zamperla, which leases the Boardwalk property from the city, gave the boot to Ruby's and seven other businesses last week to make way for new shops.

Only three stores are coming back: Nathan's, Lola Staar boutique and the Beach Shop souvenir shop.

Bummed-out barflies called the new landlord greedy, noting all the unused Boardwalk space for new businesses.

"I can see renovating [Ruby's], but getting rid of it? Come on," said Coney Island native Steven Evens, 61.

"Tell Bloomberg - don't touch the mom-and-pop stuff. They have empty lots that haven't been leased. Build on that."

Ruby's current owners said yesterday they may take Zamperla to landlord-tenant court in a bid to fight the eviction.

In the meantime, its iconic tchotchkes - like a motorcycle set in a table - will remain in place behind a shuttered gate.

If they don't win the court battle, the co-owners plan to auction off the memorabilia.

Cindy Jacobs, a co-owner and the daughter of the bar's founder, Ruby Jacobs, said the closing would have devastated her father.

"My father was just a poor boy in Coney Island, and he said, 'Once you get the sand between your toes, you never get it out,'" she said.

"He would have been sad today, but he would have been proud that the tradition of Coney Island lived on."

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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/b...1ExSgfsWU88gGP
It's a sad last 'bawl' at Coney Island bar

By JENNIFER BAIN and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN
November 7, 2010

They were crying in their beer at Ruby's Bar on the Coney Island boardwalk yesterday as some 200 regulars protested the demise of their beloved 76-year-old watering hole.

The seaside fixture, along with nine other tenants, including Shoot the Freak and Cha Cha's bar, were ordered shut last week to make way for gentrification.

Protesters signed a petition that will be sent to the new operators Zamperla USA, Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.