"The Elvis of the East" and founder of Brooklyn Chinese-American Assn. Chorus
Cornel Chan (陳均能) immigrated to the US in 1972 from Hong Kong, where he enjoyed a successful career as “The Elvis of the East” singing American songs on radio, TV and in clubs. With younger singers from abroad gaining popularity and his young sons’...
Content type: Oral History Item
From Tbilisi, Georgia to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
This interview was conducted and recorded in Russian. Read Mark Markov's transcript and translation below. Интервью было проведено и записано на русском языке. Читайте транскрипт и перевод Марка Маркова которые расположены ниже.
Tatyana...
Content type: Oral History Item
A member of the Iceberg Athletic Club from 1971-2007
Joe Lazzaro, born in 1927, was a member of the Iceberg Athletic Club, a group of Coney Island cold-water-bathing enthusiasts, from 1971 until the club disbanded in 2007. He continues to spend time at the beach every day, often accompanied by his...
Content type: Oral History Item
A painter with a Coney Island legacy
Marie Roberts hails from an illustrious Coney Island family. Her grandfather was the Acting Battalion Chief of the Coney Island district and fought some of the most notable fires in Brooklyn history including the Dreamland fire of 1911 that burned...
Content type: Oral History Item
Owner of Williams Candy and past owner of Fascination Arcade
Peter Agrapides owns and operates the Williams Candy shop next door to Nathans. He began working in Coney Island in 1949 and also owned the Fascination game arcade on Surf Avenue next to the old Loew's (Shore) Theater.
Content type: Oral History Item
Ran penny arcades in Coney Island for over 20 years
Stanley relates a fifty-year history of penny arcades in Coney Island. He and his brother ran a few of them, including Playland, and knew the locations and owners of many others.
Content type: Oral History Item
Lifelong Coney Island resident
Betty has lived on 32nd Street between Mermaid and Neptune Avenues for 37 years. Before that she lived in a bungalow, from which she had to move when it was being torn down in 1963. The apartment building she lived in next was also torn down. She...
Content type: Oral History Item
Life-long resident of Coney Island
Reginald, a life-long resident of Coney Island, revisits his childhood memories and shares his opinion on the current state of Coney Island's transition. He describes the racial tension that stemmed from fences and walls keeping people of color...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island businessman and neighborhood activist
Lou Powsner, a former Coney Island businessman and neighborhood activist remembers his fond and not so fond memories of working in Coney Island. Jennifer Snow, his grand-daughter, talks about the future of Coney Island and having a grandfather who...
Content type: Oral History Item
Roller coaster restorer and enthusiast
Robert Maxwell came with his wife to visit Coney Island from the town of Amsterdam in upstate New York. They drove down for the day to eat Nathan's hot dogs and ride The Cyclone. Robert estimates that has ridden The Cyclone at least 35-40 times...
Content type: Oral History Item