Memories of a Yiddish literary household in 1940's and 1950's Coney Island and Sea Gate
Eva Zucker grew up in Coney and Sea Gate in the 1940s and 1950s in a literary household. Yiddish was her first language. She recounts memories of her father, the Yiddish poet A. Lutzky, who made a living writing Saturday poems for the newspaper Der...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island homeowner recalls fleeing Vietnam with his family in 1981 and settling in New York City
This interview was conducted and recorded in Cantonese Chinese. Read Audrey Tam's transcript and translation below.
本采访以粤语进行并记录。阅读下面的Audrey Tam的笔录和翻译。
Among the more than 800,000 refugees who fled Vietnam in the years after the fall of Hanoi and...
Content type: Oral History Item
Subsistence U.S.A. and the Coney Island History Project
Before her career in the amusement business, Carol Albert worked with famed photographer Bruce Davidson to produce an acclaimed book of oral histories titled Subsistence U.S.A. Her interest in oral history led to the founding of the Coney Island...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of family picnics under the Boardwalk and making new memories at Spook-A-Rama
For Carmen Arcendiga, a trip to Coney Island with her granddaughter Zoe evokes memories of family picnics under the boardwalk, riding the Cyclone, and the Laughing Lady. They came to Coney Island after Carmen won an essay contest for a behind-the-...
Content type: Oral History Item
Getting engaged on the Wonder Wheel, the most romantic ride in the world
One Saturday in May when we arrived to open up the Coney Island History Project exhibit center, a group of people holding signs that spelled out WILL YOU MARRY ME??????? caught our eye. A couple was getting engaged on the Wonder Wheel! A popular...
Content type: Oral History Item
Mermaid Avenue pharmacist dispenses news and advice to new immigrants
Ho Cheung Li's J & R Pharmacy is on Mermaid Avenue at the corner of West 23rd Street in Coney Island. He and his family live upstairs. Li emigrated from Hong Kong when he was in his 20s and spent more than four years in school to regain his...
Content type: Oral History Item
Jodie Bell discovers a 1950s photograph of her aunt as Miss Coney Island at the History Project
Jodie Bell tells stories about her family in Coney Island, some happy and some tragic.
Content type: Oral History Item
Turkish store owner returns to Coney Island as restaurateur three years after Hurricane Sandy
This interview was conducted and recorded in Turkish. Read Serhan Ayhan's transcript and translation below.
Levent Demirgil, who emigrated from Turkey in 1988, is the owner of gourmet food shops in Brighton Beach and on Kings Highway. Coney Island...
Content type: Oral History Item
A look behind the scenes at Steeplechase Park
Frank Newlands worked at Steeplechase Park in its final years, maintaining the electrical infrastructure for attractions that included the Pavilion, Parachute Jump, Ferris Wheel, and roller coaster. His stories give a rare and humorous glimpse into...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of his family's escape from Poland to Coney Island after the Holocaust
Leon Borzykowski and his family lived in Coney Island Houses at the same time as Coney Island History Project director Charles Denson's family and Leon's daughter Barbara was best friends with Charles' sister. Young Leon escaped from the Jewish...
Content type: Oral History Item