Oral History Archive

Jewel Hough

Working at Coney Island's Deno's Wonder Wheel Park for 18 Years

Ahmed Hussain

Memories of a boyhood helping out in his family's store in Coney Island and learning to play pinball

Rob Weissbard

Milton Berger's nephew describes adventures at Steeplechase Park with Coney's great showman

Mr. Luong

Coney Island homeowner recalls fleeing Vietnam with his family in 1981 and settling in New York City

Ho Cheung Li

Mermaid Avenue pharmacist dispenses news and advice to new immigrants

Beth Allen

Beth Allen recounts her origins as an "incubator baby" in Dr. Martin Couney's sideshow

Josh Wolfe

Chairman of Coney Island Prep on growing up in Coney Island and the charter school's first 15 years

Arthur Galka

Washington Baths pool and the scary movies at the Mermaid Theater

Joe Miller

"Best of the Best" slugger at the Coney Island Batting Range

Jeffrey Brettler

Working the Rides: From the streets of Coney Island to the war in Vietnam

Angbeen Saleem

A poet and roller coaster lover describes her weekly ritual of riding the Coney Island Cyclone

Betya Shenker

Memories of World War II in Ukraine and immigrating to Southern Brooklyn

Mary Engel

Filmmaker and archivist whose parents collaborated on the film Little Fugitive in Coney Island

Judith Densky

Memories of growing up in Coney Island and Sea Gate in the late 1940s and 1950s

Larry Marquit

Growing up in Sea Gate and Coney Island in the 1930s and '40s

Stella Bacolas

Growing up in Greece and living in Coney Island's Luna Park Houses since the 1970s

Mort Shatzkin

Memories of growing up in Coney Island and the family business, Shatzkin's Famous Knishes

Sofya Dudnik

Embroidery artist and Coney Island resident who emigrated from Moscow in 2010