Horace Bullard facts for kids

Horace Bullard (born in 1938, died in 2013) was a smart businessman. He started a chain of restaurants in New York City called Kansas Fried Chicken. Later, he bought many properties in Coney Island because he had a big plan to bring back its famous amusement parks and fun attractions.

Horace Bullard: A Visionary Businessman

Horace Bullard started his Kansas Fried Chicken restaurants because he couldn't get a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. He was from East Harlem and had African American and Puerto Rican family roots. He made sure his chicken had special flavors from these communities. His restaurants became very popular. Even though they eventually closed, they inspired many other similar restaurants called Kennedy Fried Chicken, often started by people from the Afghan American community.

Dreaming Big for Coney Island

Horace Bullard used some of the money he earned from his restaurants to buy many properties in Coney Island. His big goal was to bring back its exciting amusement industry. He bought famous places like the Shore Theater and the old Thunderbolt roller coaster.

In 1985, he created a plan for a brand new Steeplechase Park. This project was expected to cost about $55 million and was supported by the city government led by Mayor Ed Koch.

Challenges and Changes

However, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani took office, his government was not as supportive of Bullard's plans. Mayor Giuliani wanted the old Steeplechase Park area to become a baseball stadium for a smaller league team. Today, this stadium is known as Maimonides Park.

Mayor Giuliani also ordered the famous Thunderbolt roller coaster to be torn down. This caused a lot of debate, especially because Horace Bullard, who owned the roller coaster, was not told about the demolition beforehand.