Kaara Baptiste is a writer and editor in New York. Although a native Brooklynite, it wasn’t until journalism school that she learned the history of Coney Island beyond the amusement rides, covering recovery efforts of local churches after superstorm Sandy and community initiatives to stop gun violence. She is a 2014 graduate of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and is now a copy editor at Newsday.
Interviews
Coney Island native and longtime independent game operator on Jones Walk
Monica Ghee is a Coney Island native who has operated games at various locations in the amusement district on and off for the past 52 years. She recalls some of the games she has worked in the past, including the dime pitch, glass pitch, goldfish...
Longtime Sea Gate resident and watercolor artist who teaches at Seaside Innovative Senior Center
Jeffrey Berman, 77, is a Coney Island native who has lived in Sea Gate since establishing his first artist's studio here when he was in his 30s. He recounts how he got interested in art and studied drawing at the Art Students League for 2-1/2 years...
Working at Coney Island's Deno's Wonder Wheel Park for 18 Years
Jewel Hough lives in Brighton Beach and has been working at Coney Island's Deno's Wonder Wheel Park for the past 18 years. She started out operating rides in Deno's Kiddie Park and currently works in Deno's Sweet Shoppe. Jewel describes her favorite...
Memories of a boyhood helping out in his family's store in Coney Island and learning to play pinball
Ahmed Hussain, 24, has spent every summer since he was eight in Coney Island helping out in his family's stores in the amusement area. What he enjoyed most about growing up in Coney was his friendship with the operators of Faber's Fascination...
Mechanical display creator who redid the tricks for Astroland's Dante's Inferno dark ride in the 1990s
Brooklynite Lou Nasti, the owner of Mechanical Displays in Flatbush, refers to himself as an "artistic mechanical engineer." He has designed, manufactured and installed one-of-a-kind, custom animated characters and displays both locally and around...
Sea Gate artist, writer, educator and year-round swimmer
Hawley Hussey recounts "getting in the Gate," moving to a beach mansion in Sea Gate in 2001, her Coney Island-inspired art and writings, and swimming year-round. A member of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club as well as an ephemeral upstart group...
Longtime baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs and Sea Gate resident
Billy Blitzer grew up in Brighton Beach, has lived in Sea Gate for the past 36 years, and is a pro scout for the Chicago Cubs. Baseball has been an integral part of his life since he played Little League at Coney Island's Kaiser Park and with his...
Artist whose Coney Island-themed work includes solo and community murals at Coney Art Walls
Brooklyn-born Chris "Daze" Ellis is an internationally known artist who began his career painting subway trains as a high school student and successfully transitioned to canvas in the early 1980s. His series of Coney Island-themed paintings created...
Architect who grew up in Coney Island in the 1980s and designed the renovated Ruby's Bar & Grill
Eric Safyan grew up in Coney Island's Brightwater Towers overlooking the Aquarium. His parents were political refugees who emigrated from Odessa in Ukraine when he was 3-1/2 years old. After graduating from Brooklyn Tech and architecture school in...
Memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1980s and '90s and Faber's Fascination Arcade
Jeffrey L. Wilson is a Senior Software Analyst at PC Magazine, where he writes about video games, mobile apps, and other tech subjects. He shares memories of growing up in Coney Island, where his family moved to O'Dwyer Gardens from Flatbush in 1986...