Any other fellow New Yorkers remember Coney Island High? I stumbled across this article (which was written in 2001) and it brought back some great memories of this great venue.
It would have been great if it was still around when GTA was up and coming.
Coney Island High Reunionfeaturing The Dickies, Murphy's Law, Bellvue, and The KowalskisDon Hill's, New York City, NY 
April 13, 2001by David Lee BeowulfI'm typing this up post-Joey, so please bear with me� Once upon a time, from roughly 1995 to 1999, Saint Marks Place in Manhattan (a.k.a. 8th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues; East Village) hosted Coney Island High, a nifty little venue for rock and roll music that, in my opinion, filled out the third part of the Punk Rock Club Triumvirate. That would be the Continental, CBGB, and Coney Island High. Hmmm, the "three C's."
Whatever.
Granted that CB's has been there "forever" and the Continental probably just as long, Coney Island High (CIH) came on to the "scene" very late in the game, but thanks to visionary owners who care a lot more about music than anything, CIH was an instant hit. What's this got to do with the show? Oh, sorry, the purpose of this show was to remember Coney Island High and to preview a new documentary called
No Dancing in Manhattan or something like that. There is a lot of scuttlebutt about why CIH closed. One of the theories is that the NYC police, egged on by Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, cracked down on the punk clubs by enforcing "cabaret" licenses. Which basically means you need a license to dance in this establishment. Yep, a license to dance. If there's dancing, the cops will shut you down.
OK, this is about as much as I'll say about things: a) I heard with my own eyes (you figure it out) the manager of Coney Island get arrested during Joey Ramone's Blitzkrieg Bash in 1997. b) Coney Island High had four shows a night. It was a three-story storefront with a main floor, upper floor and a basement. At one time, there were admission gigs on all floors. Just about every night, there were early and late shows on the main and upper floor. c) They sold a lot of alcohol. d) They packed the place with great bands like Iggy Pop, Murphy's Law, The Misfits, The Dickies, The Ramones, The Beastie Boys, The Donnas, The Fleshtones, The Mentors, The Damned, Hawkwind, D-Generation, King Diamond, etc. EVERYONE -- this was a small venue, remember? That meant you could experience these big-name acts "in a club" -- breathing was optional. e) They're situated across from a hotel that rents by the hour. f) They're within walking distance of New York University and Cooper Union. g) There is a drug rehab center next door to them. h) There was a woman who lived above the place (I don't see how it worked) who complained of noise from CIH. Apparently, she was a prostitute, as well. i) The police were a somewhat regular fixture outside the club; they are/were not such at CBGB, the Continental, or anywhere else that has extremely loud music and obnoxious fans. j) The place has not been rented since CIH closed.
It doesn't make sense.
Given: first of all, the place was coining it in on beer sales. I saw people get drunk in the place, and at five bucks a beer and more for a mixed drink, the proverbial "hundred dollar night" -- especially if there was a ten-band showcase playing - could be achieved before midnight. Secondly, they held four paying gigs a night. That is, admissions were charged twice a night in two venues in the same building. Thirdly, they, like all clubs, had as minimal a staff as necessary: maybe three bartenders, a couple of bouncers, a couple of ticket sellers, a sound guy, and perhaps a few Mexicans who hosed the place down at the end of the night -- say six AM. Fourthly, Admissions ran between $8 and $20. You could get 400 people in the place.
Rumors: 1) The city police clamped down on CIH. 2) The owners didn't pay their rent. 3) The owners paid a premium price for the bands they hosted, and as such, went broke. 4) This one Jimmy G. of Murphy's Law had to offer: they gave away too much free beer. 5) They went broke because of their guest lists, always huge; that is, they let everyone in for free.
My verdict: A combination of 1, 2, and 3. The cops absolutely did target CIH. There's a drug rehab place next door with a heck of a lot of "lurkers" hanging out and making a lot of noise in the street. There are something like twenty bars and restaurants on the block, too. Noise and crowds distinguish this area. Nope, the cops were acting on instructions, otherwise the Continental, half a block away, would've gotten just as much of a hassle. Of course, when the police get a complaint (which is what I believe they did -- every night CIH was in business, from the hooker upstairs), they have to respond. And if there are underage drinkers or people doing illegal drugs on the premises (note the use of the word "illegal;" that is, it is against the law -- meaning you can be lawfully arrested and have your life ruined at your own hand if you're partaking) the police have a legal duty to shit on your birthday party. The "no dancing" issue is bullshit. So they have a "cabaret" license instead of a "dancing place license." Spend the extra bucks and get a great lawyer to handle the hassles, eh? Duuuh... I also firmly believe, with no proof whatsoever, that the business wasn't operated the best -- hey, they were punk rockers, right? All parties had bands they were in to worry about and probably day jobs in addition to the club biz. They got major rock and roll acts and did a lot of advertising. That gets expensive after a while, and you just can't sell enough beer, maybe, to cover flying in West Coast old farts with their equipment. Regarding 4 and 5, a) I NEVER saw anyone get free beer; even with bar tickets someone has already paid in real money for the beer. b) The record companies pay for the guest listees ahead of time or they're billed. Regardless, they'd make it back on beer sales. Besides, there were enough "sold out" shows that even I paid for (for the record, I paid to get into CIH about, oh, 60% of the time, but hey, I'm an important writer...).
Subject: Coney Island High 
Fri Jul 23, 2010 5:02 pm
