Oral History Archive

Filtering by 2000 - 2009 back to all

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

Hawley Hussey

Sea Gate artist, writer, educator and year-round swimmer

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

Hyeyoung Kim and Michael Cooper

Composer and lyricist of Luna Park, a musical, on chronicling the partnership of Thompson and Dundy

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

Irene Karas

Sea Gate resident on her girlhood memories of Coney Island and passing them on to her daughter

Gabriel Alegría

Jazz musician and bandleader of the Afro-Peruvian Sextet has lived in Coney Island for the past decade

Eric Safyan

Architect who grew up in Coney Island in the 1980s and designed the renovated Ruby's Bar & Grill

Michael Goldstein (Looch)

Memories of growing up on Mermaid Avenue and working games in Coney Island from age twelve

Father Eugene Pappas

On growing up in Coney Island in the 1940s and the history of Greek-American businesses in the area