Oral History Archive

Filtering by 1990 - 1999 back to all

Gina Femia

Brooklyn-born playwright on her plays set in Coney Island and a marriage proposal on the beach

Stanley Fox

Retired Coney Island arcade operator recalls his family's 30-plus years in the business

Olga Lozar

A Sea Gate resident who is a Coney Island Polar Bear talks about the pleasures of winter swimming

Allen James

Coney Islander, musician/songwriter in alt-rock band Newborn, lifeguard

Crystal Isley

Memories of growing up in Coney Island Houses in the 1980s and '90s

Robert Whitney

Memories of a gorilla show, a bungalow colony, and an underground city beside the beach

Alito Hernandez

From breakdancing on the streets of Coney Island with Fresh Kids to Peter Gennaro's Street Dreams

Silvana, Adrianne and Silverio Conte

Owners of Bensonhurst's SAS Italian Records, founded in the 1960s

Sam Shlivko

Growing up in the Russian community in Coney Island and Brighton Beach

Mindy Gress

Memories of growing up on Coney Island's first block and working in the Cyclone photobooth's darkroom

Abby Jordan

Growing up Latina in Brighton Beach with a special connection to nature and the ocean

Kai Fung

Homeowner in Coney Island's West End for almost 30 years and first member of his family to settle here

Lou Nasti

Mechanical display creator who redid the tricks for Astroland's Dante's Inferno dark ride in the 1990s

Edith Storch

Memories of growing up on West 36th Street in Coney Island's West End in the 1930s

Billy Blitzer

Longtime baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs and Sea Gate resident

Sam Moses

Sign-painting legend, musician and Sea Gate resident

Jay Green (Gerald Greenberg)

Three-time International Jugglers Association champion and resident of Southern Brooklyn

Chris "Daze" Ellis

Artist whose Coney Island-themed work includes solo and community murals at Coney Art Walls