Oral History Archive

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

Ansen Tang

Director of United Chinese Association of Brooklyn in Bensonhurt, Dyker Heights, and Sheepshead Bay

Jerry Omanoff

Memories of living in Coney Island from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s

Carol Polcovar

Writer and playwright who grew up in Coney Island from 1943 to 1956

Jerry Farley (The Jerry Farley)

Record producer and audio engineer who produces live shows at Coney Island Brewery

John Philip Capello

Mystery artist who carved faces into rocks on the shoreline at Brighton Beach

Rachel Rosenberg Simon

Rachel Simon recalls her family's Deli Restaurant on Mermaid Avenue

Eric Schwelke

Memories of living in Luna Park Houses in the 1960s and again in the late 1970s

Frieda Schwelke

Memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1930s and '40s and moving to Luna Park Houses in 1962

Fred Stern

Bus driver for 35 years on the B36 route and the shuttle bus inside Sea Gate

Jeff Brooks and Monica Ghee

Jeff was given less than a year to live. Monica donated a kidney and saved his life.

Eric Sanchez

Growing up in Coney Island and Gravesend in the 1990s and 2000s

Randy Kasper

Memories of living in the newly opened Luna Park Houses in the 1960s

Orlando Mendez

Growing up in Coney Island in the 1970s and being the third generation of his family to live here today