Hey, did you know that the New York Aquarium’s Coney Island home is 50 years old?
The fact was driven home to Brooklynites is a publicity campaign over the last few weeks which culminated in a birthday party last Friday. But because the Aquarium is far from tourist-centric Manhattan, it is often bypassed by out-of-town visitors — and that’s something Councilman Domenic Recchia wants to change.
Recchia (D–Coney Island) sounded genuinely angry at Friday’s celebration, angry that the Aquarium isn’t appreciated by New Yorkers and the tourism people who supposedly promote it.
“I’m tired of seeing it at the back pages of brochures,” he said. “I won’t stand for it!”
Recchia’s message may have been slightly undercut by the hula-hooping dancer who didn’t stop her routine even as he spoke, but he vowed to “put his money where his mouth is” by funding a publicity campaign for the Aquarium that will include installing a carousel with glass fish instead of horses at Battery Park.
That’s the historic home of the Aquarium, which opened at the Battery in 1896, but was relocated to Coney Island in the 1950s.
Next to Recchia’s carousel would be a sign ordering tourists to “visit New York Aquarium in Coney Island!” he said.
Even more important than the carousel is the planned $45-million renovation, which is still years away. The Economic Development Corporation is still choosing among three final designs for the exterior, including a popular jellyfish-shaped dome and a largemouth bass-shaped structure.
The Aquarium needs a facelift to get some attention for all its unique attractions. Its animal collection includes the oldest sand tiger shark in the world, the only east-coast herd of male sea otters, and Ayveq the walrus, who spends his time, er, practicing the solitary sport, to put it euphemistically. (He has at least one YouTube video devoted to his antics, although no mention is made of his best-known trick on his “official” biography.)
Despite Ayveq, the Aquarium remains under-visited. Attendance has been rising slowly over the past few years — 750,00 last year compared to 726,000 the year before — but it still pales in comparison to the Bronx Zoo, which gets around two million visitors a year.
Aquarium spokeswoman Fran Hackett said such a comparison isn’t fair, as the Zoo is one of the most-famous animal attractions in the United States. Besides, the situation in Coney Island isn’t so bad, she said.
“In the summer, we are OK, depending on the weather,” she said, adding, “Our attendance can be boosted in the fall and winter.”
Maybe the Aquarium Web site should link to Ayveq’s video.
