Oral History Archive

Filtering by 2000 - 2009 back to all

Stefon Bristol

Film director and screenwriter who grew up in Coney Island in the 1990s

Stanley Shapiro

Memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1940s and going back four times a year

Ellina Graypel

Singer, musician and composer who lives in Sea Gate

Nasim Almuntaser

Brooklyn College history student grew up working in his family's bodega in Brighton Beach

Reverend Cliff Herring

The Roller Coaster Reverend shares stories of Cyclone weddings

Olga Martynchuk

Mother of professional boxing star Nikita Ababiy

Jen Kepler

Educator at New York Aquarium and passionate observer of Brooklyn wildlife

Monica Ghee

Coney Island native and longtime independent game operator on Jones Walk

Jeffrey Berman

Longtime Sea Gate resident and watercolor artist who teaches at Seaside Innovative Senior Center

Frederick Brosen

Artist whose watercolors of the Astroland Rocket and Wonder Wheel sign are emblematic of Coney Island

Gina Femia

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

Linda Zhang

Coney Island homeowner for 19 years enjoys organic gardening and walking on the boardwalk

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

Xin Song

Artist who used traditional Chinese paper cutting to create public art in Bay Parkway subway station

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