When we heard Danny Meyer was announcing the opening of a new Shake Shack this afternoon, we had to go down to Borough Hall to ask him just one question (though questions weren’t exactly encouraged): Are the rumors true, that he might be planning a Coney Island location? “Don’t know anything about it” was the answer he gave us as he headed back into Borough Hall. Well now, that’s interesting. It’s hard to believe Meyer isn’t following the news about his own business, but who can blame him for keeping focused on the downtown location? He says that when the Shack opens mid-next year, he’ll be hiring seventy people from the local community, and meanwhile Marty Markowitz tells us he’s working very closely with Sal Casaccio of Tony’s Famous Pizzeria (which is being replaced by the Shack) to help him find a new location (in fact, he may have already signed a lease).
Okay, so now that we’ve (not really) solved the mystery of whether Shake Shack is coming to Coney, what else is new down there? Well, for one thing Anthony Berlingieri of “Shoot the Freak” has penned an op-ed for Your Nabe asking, “Why not put a new dress on the Statue of Liberty? Why not rename George Washington Bridge Bloomberg’s Bridge?” He says he plans to be the last man standing against Bloomberg and Zamperla: “I’m not in denial; if you beat me fair, I’m more than man enough to shake your hand and say good fight. But when I’m right, I’m also man enough to say go f— yourself.” Hey-oh! Now that’s diplomacy, Brooklyn-style.
