Oral History Archive

Filtering by Boardwalk, The back to all

Sam Shlivko

Growing up in the Russian community in Coney Island and Brighton Beach

Abby Jordan

Growing up Latina in Brighton Beach with a special connection to nature and the ocean

Karen Dawn Blondel

Environmental justice organizer who was born in Coney Island and raised here in the 1960s and '70s

Eric Safyan

Architect who grew up in Coney Island in the 1980s and designed the renovated Ruby's Bar & Grill

Paul Sanchez

Coney Island singer/songwriter who wrote "A Coney Island Song"

Mohammed Saad Ali

Actor and playwright whose new play A Lonely Night in Coney Island is set on the Boardwalk

Al Burgo

Memories of growing up on West 33rd Street in Coney Island and working on the Boardwalk in the 1960s

Donna Bianco

Memories of working as a police officer in Coney Island in the 1980s and '90s

Grace Lo

Homeowner and community activist in Coney Island's West End for almost 30 years

Steve Larkin

Memories of working at a Coney Island beach chair and umbrella rental company as a teen in the 1970s

Federico Ausbury and Maira Vergara

Husband-and-wife music duo Federico Ausbury and Maira Vergara of A Flying Dodo Society

Gabriel Valencia

Twenty years as part of the family at Gregory & Paul's and Paul's Daughter on the Coney Island Boardwalk

Marina Rubin

Ukrainian emigre writer and author of Stealing Cherries, a collection of flash fiction

Carmen Arcendiaga

Memories of family picnics under the Boardwalk and making new memories at Spook-A-Rama

Stephanie Norr and Betty Cohn

Shared their 1950's childhood under the boardwalk

Karen Levy Fogel

Family owned Levy's Bar and Grill

Peter Spanakos

Founder of the Sea Gate Historical Society

Harry Gans

Lived in Coney Island from 1938 thru early 1950's