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NYC's oldest arcade re-opened as 'a cross between a Dave & Busters and a Chuck E. Cheese'
When Chinatown Fair suddenly closed early last year, the prospects for a re-opening were slim. A variety of owners of the arcade weren't able to agree to a lease negotiation with the property's owner, and the doors to Chinatown Fair in its original form closed for good in late February 2011. This past weekend, those doors re-opened, and what The Gothamist saw inside wasn't quite the same as the Chinatown Fair that shut down last year. For one, the ownership changed."We're kind of a cross between a Dave & Busters and a Chuck E. Cheese," new owner Lonnie Sobel said. "We're trying to do the best of both worlds." While a handful of classics were spotted – Dance Dance Revolution and Terminator: Salvation, for instance – the changes were apparent: Guitar Hero and Fruit Ninja machines sit next to skee-ball and air hockey, all dispensing redeemable prize tickets.Sobel promises more fighting game fare in the future, and pins the current lack to "no really great fighting games" being out at the moment. We ... don't agree with that statement, but our disagreement won't change things, unfortunately.[Image credit: Gothamist]
New York's Chinatown Fair arcade hits reset, plays a new game
When Chinatown Fair closed in March of last year, Filmmaker Kurt Vincent went to work documenting the New York arcade's final days, continuing to return to the location after it shuttered to work on his upcoming film, Arcade. Imagine his surprise when he ran into Lonnie Sobel, the famous amusement hall's new owner, stocking it with new game cabinets. It's been a few months since Vincent's discovery, but Chinatown Fair finally reopened its doors over the weekend. Old regulars may want to brace themselves, however, Sobel's playing a different game. "We're kind of a cross between a Dave & Busters and a Chuck E. Cheese," the new owner told Gothamist, "We're trying to do the best of both worlds." Sobel's hoping to merge the old Chinatown Fair's culture of fighting games with an assortment of family friendly amusements: skee-ball, air hockey, Guitar Hero, hoop basketball and a counter for redeeming tickets for prizes. The new Fair will also sell game time for use on a Xbox 360 and games like Call of Duty, played on one of two flat screen televisions. Not all of the old arcade's former regulars are happy with the changes, but, as Vincent noted, they "say they're just happy it exists." That makes more than a few of us. [Thanks, Katrin]
New York's Chinatown Fair arcade presses start to continue
Live in New York? Miss the familiar sound of a quarter dropping into an arcade slot? If so, then news that the Chinatown Fair arcade could be re-opening will definitely give you a power-up. It turns out that film maker Kurt Vincent headed down to the disused locale to shoot its vacant halls, only to bump into the new owner shuffling some game cabinets back in. Sadly there's sparse little other info about how or when we might see the flicker of screens lighting up the walls once more, but at least you should be able to beat that OutRun top score in relative comfort soon.
Report: NYC arcade Chinatown Fair reopening
Kurt Vincent was shooting around the location of the old, defunct Chinatown Fair arcade this week, for his movie about the downfall of that beloved game center, when he discovered that it was actually not as dead as it seemed. Awkward!Vincent posted on his blog that he'd heard rumors of the Fair being reopened, and then ran into who he believes to be the new owner on the site. He was there cleaning out the space and moving games in.For NYC residents, this means a return of one of the fixtures of game culture. For Vincent, it means a storyline change for the movie. And, best of all, for Chinatown Fair, it means somebody is cleaning the place.
NYC's last great arcade documented in 'Arcade: The Last Night at Chinatown Fair'
"Chinatown [Fair] was the last one, it had the best players, and this was like our last spot. So now hearing that this is closing, we gotta find another spot to migrate to," one defeated-sounding patron of Chinatown Fair exclaims in the short clip from Arcade: The Last Night at Chinatown Fair. The documentary intends to capture the iconic New York City arcade's last evening, and the ambitious project is being funded entirely by Kickstarter. Rumors surrounding Chinatown Fair's closing began in early February of this year. Though a brief glimmer of hope saw the owners renegotiating their lease, the 50+ year-old arcade eventually closed for good later that month. As of mid-day on Monday, the project has raised over $13K, with a goal of $20K (and another 22 days left). The film's production staff are also offering incentives for donation, with everything from a digital copy of the finished product and a credit in the film for just $10, to a "custom designed Chinatown Fair theme arcade cabinet" for pledges of $5,000 or more (One person already signed up! Madness!). Head past the break and see the full pitch video, as well as the premiere trailer.
Chinatown Fair could relocate, currently renegotiating lease
Yesterday morning, Twitter was littered with folks trying to find out more information about the status of legendary New York City arcade Chinatown Fair. "#ChinatownFair" hashtags in-tow, rumor and speculation of the tweeters held that the arcade could be closing by the end of this week, with other reports stating March or later -- as it turns out, the arcade may not be closing at all. "I'm trying to see if I can relocate my business," owner Samuel Palmer told Joystiq last night. According to Palmer, negotiations are still ongoing with his landlord -- a situation brought on by a failure to renew Palmer's previous lease agreement. "Samuel Palmer -- I'm not too sure if he had the lease renewed. So the landlord has an interest in raising the rent, and I guess he doesn't wanna pay it," manager Valentino Ventura told us, adding, "There is a possibility -- a remote possibility -- that we may be moving elsewhere. But we'll see how that goes. We plan to stay here." Ventura further specified in a Facebook post that "[Chinatown Fair] may be relocating to Williamsburg, Brooklyn if disputes with the landlord are not settled" -- a notable move for an arcade that's been in operation on Mott Street in Lower Manhattan since at least the 1950s. But Ventura's not worried. He says that "the place makes plenty of money," and makes sure to point out, "We love our customers." For now, Palmer is in ongoing negotiations for the store to stay put. And, at least for now, it's not going anywhere. [Image credit: The New York Times]
