Worked at the B&B Carousell
Kevin speaks lovingly and sadly of the 49 years he lived in Coney Island, remembering his dear friends and employers at the The Bishoff & Brienstein Carousell (the B&B for short) and regretting what is to become of his home under the new...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island Cyclone coaster marathoner
Avid roller coaster rider Bill Galvin recounts the time he wore a dress to participate in a women's marathon on the Cyclone roller coaster in 1997.
Content type: Oral History Item
Visited Coney Island from Massachusetts as a boy
Joe Rysz remembers visiting Coney Island as he grew up in the 1950's when his family would come to visit their relatives who lived in Brooklyn. Being from a small town in Massachusetts, he was very impressed by New York City and remembers Coney...
Content type: Oral History Item
Longtime residents of Coney Island
Relatives Joan and Julie Curran reminisce about the glory days of Coney Island and comment on the Island's historical charm and legacy.
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Coney Island until age 11 and is back for the first time in 25 years
Susan, who now lives in Israel, lived in Coney Island from 1955 to 1966 and this is her first visit back in over 25 years. Her parents would save up to come to the amusement park area only once a year and Susan's favorite part was Steeplechase...
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Luna Park Housing in the 1960's
Michele moved to Coney Island in 1961 when Luna Park Houses were first built. She had an aunt who lived in Sea Gate and often rode her bike over to hang out there on her favorite beach. It was quiet there and very different from the boisterous Luna...
Content type: Oral History Item
Former West End resident in the 1940's and 50's
In this interview Sylvia Perlmutter Kaye, a former resident of the West End, recalls her days in Coney Island sledding down Boardwalk ramps in winter, smoking with the Vargas Girls, scrounging for free tickets at Steeplechase and watching her uncle...
Content type: Oral History Item
Grew up on Avenue Z in the 1930's and 40's
Jocelyn Cantor remembers walking to the Boardwalk from her home on Avenue Z and spending whole days at Steeplechase Park with her cousin when they were children. When she got older, Jocelyn and a girlfriend recruited some soldiers on leave to...
Content type: Oral History Item
Began his career as a sign painter in Coney Island
John Rea is currently an advertising professional and adjunct professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York, but he began his career as a young teenager working for his father, also John Rea, in the Peluso Machine and Iron Works shop in Coney...
Content type: Oral History Item
Longtime resident of Coney Island and former President of the Polar Bear Club
Scarcella grew up in Coney Island during the 1950s and 1960s. His father was a beat cop, and he later became a cop and detective in the homicide unit. He moonlighted as a barker for Spookarama and El Dorado and was the President of the Coney Island...
Content type: Oral History Item