Memories of working at a Coney Island beach chair and umbrella rental company as a teen in the 1970s
Steve Larkin's family lived in Coney Island and Brighton Beach from the time his Latvian-born grandfather David Latzkin immigrated here in 1903 until they moved in 1978. The family resided at 55 Railroad Avenue and later on Brighton 7th Street....
Content type: Oral History Item
Artist and Coney Island resident recalls growing up on Mermaid Avenue above Carolina Restaurant
Artist Johanna Gargiulo Sherman grew up in Coney Island, where her family lived on Mermaid Avenue in a cold water flat above Carolina Restaurant. Her father Joe "Carolina" Gargiulo led a musical trio and was one of the partners in this popular ...
Content type: Oral History Item
Kite flyers Billy Echeverria, Nicholas Rowe, Kurtis Jones and Charles Stewart at Coney Island's Kite Festival
Interviewed at the 7th annual Coney Island Kite Festival, Billy Echeverria, Nicholas Rowe, Kurtis Jones and Charles Stewart talk about kite flying as "filling the sky with art" and as a sport. The season for kite flying on Coney Island Beach is from...
Content type: Oral History Item
Chef and owner of the Vendy Award winning Coney Shack food cart
Located on West 8th Street in Coney Island, next to the Department of Motor Vehicles office, Lawrence Mach's Coney Shack offers a unique menu of Southeast Asian inspired tacos, burritos and hot dogs. First opened in 2013, the sidewalk cart soon...
Content type: Oral History Item
Ecuadorian-born Gravesend resident is among NYC's fastest long-distance runners in his age category
This interview was conducted and recorded in Spanish. Read Leslee Dean's transcript and translation below.
Julio Sauce, 44, is a resident of Gravesend who has been running marathons, including the Coney Island 5K, Brooklyn Half Marathon and New...
Content type: Oral History Item
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....
Content type: Oral History Item
Granddaughter of Anthony "Totonno" Pero tells the story of how he founded Totonno's Pizzeria in 1924
Antoinette Balzano is the granddaughter of Totonno's founder, Anthony Pero. At Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, pizzas have been made in the same way in the same spot since 1924. Anthony (Totonno) Pero, emigrated from...
Content type: Oral History Item
Founder of Cultural Research Divers shares his knowledge of oceans, estuaries, and Coney Island Creek
Gene Ritter is a Coney Island native, environmental advocate, commercial diver and educator. He grew up on West 16th Street near Coney Island Creek and got certified as a diver as a 14-year-old. Gene is the founder and president of Cultural Research...
Content type: Oral History Item
Longtime Coney Island resident tells the story of three generations of her family
Alfie Davis has lived in Coney Island for nearly 40 years and is the Tenant Association Leader of the Sea Rise I complex in Coney Island's West End. Part I of her family's story illuminates an incredible chapter of African-American history. The...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island resident and proprietor of Coney Island Hook and Bait Shop
Derrick Batts, 50, has been a resident of Coney Island and an avid fisherman since boyhood. In May, he and his son Derrick Jr. opened Coney Island Hook and Bait Shop on West 24th Street just off Mermaid Avenue. They sell an array of bait and fishing...
Content type: Oral History Item