Kaara Baptiste

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 singer/songwriter who wrote "A Coney Island Song"
A Coney Island resident for the past 16 years, Paul Sanchez is a singer/songwriter who can be found playing his guitar on the Boardwalk and in Coney venues such as Steeplechase Beer Garden. He plays his signature composition, "A Coney Island Song,"...
Storyteller, cartoonist and designer whose graphic novel Prince of Cats is partly set in 1980's Coney Island
Brooklyn resident Ronald Wimberly  is a storyteller, cartoonist and designer whose graphic novel Prince of Cats is partly set in Coney Island.  His retelling of Romeo and Juliet mixes comics, hip-hop and Shakespearian poetry. Wimberly describes the...
Community activist and president of the Carey Gardens Tenants Association
Shirley Aikens has called Coney Island her home for nearly 40 years and is very active in the community. She is president of the Carey Gardens Tenants Association and a member of Community Board 13 and the NYPD's 60th Precinct Community Council....
Historian delves into the life of E.J. Perry, African-American silhouette artist at Luna Park
Historian Eric K. Washington's 2013 essay "E.J. Perry, African-American Silhouette Cutter of America's Leisure Circuit" brought the long forgotten Perry into the public eye once again. Called "America's most famous silhouette cutter" by The...
Jamaican-born chef at Footprints Caribbean Cafe in Coney Island and originator of Rasta Pasta
Basil Jones is the chef at Footprints Cafe in Coney Island, which specializes in Caribbean cuisine, and is the originator of their famed Rasta Pasta. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in St. Ann's Bay, Jones first learned to cook as a boy...