Filtering by 2010 - 2019
![Leonid Alaverdov at Kings Bay Library, 2020. Photo by Julia Kanin for the Coney Island History Project.](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/9040/images/img_20200215_150753.jpg?itok=glRzxMJN&c=4eff42af27da53f561ae5554b735d90f)
Leonid Alaverdov
Tapestry artist and Coney Island resident whose work is inspired by his native Baku and New York City
![Steven Feinstein, owner of Wilensky Hardware store. Photo © Charles Denson.](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8842/images/steve_6575.jpg?itok=0uc8tIJJ)
Steven Feinstein
Reflections on running Wilensky Hardware, a 100-year-old family business on Mermaid Avenue
![Photo by Giulia Hjort for the Coney Island History Project](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8797/images/steve_campanella_1.jpg?itok=HUrJShn4&c=f5df176d7fba616514f0dedc00ab1c52)
Steve Campanella
Collector of 1950's and '60s memorabilia whose Bensonhurst home is known as the Statue House
![](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8608/images/robert_serrano_jr.jpg?itok=_3WRcN4n)
Robert Serrano Jr.
Ride operator at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park for 11 years and Michael Jackson impressionist
![Dennis Thomas. Photo © Jim McDonnell. December 6, 2015.](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8627/images/dennis_thomas_by_jim_mcdonnell_dec_6_2015.jpg?itok=9pLMm1Bt)
Dennis Thomas
President of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the past 12 years and a member since the 1980s
![Photo of Master Lin performing at Coney Island Talent Show, July 31, 2010. © Jim McDonnell](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8519/images/master_lin_july_31_2010_2_photo_by_jim_mcdonnell.jpg?itok=dT8_74Yi)
Boan Lin (Master Lin)
Tai chi master who was born in China shares memories of practicing and teaching his art in Brooklyn
![Yeva Novik, 2019. Photo by Julia Kanin for the Coney Island History Project.](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/8510/images/yeva_novik_1_.jpg?itok=-LZKnkqr)
Yeva Novik
A 90-year-old Coney Island resident recounts her journey from Moscow to Southern Brooklyn
![](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/7749/images/natasha_lvovich_0.jpg?itok=6arDTbsJ)
Natasha Lvovich
Moscow-born Coney Island resident, writer of creative nonfiction and fiction, and professor of English
![Coney Island History Project Oral History Archive](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/7641/images/ahmed_hussain_coney_island_history_project.jpg?itok=366bxq4V)
Ahmed Hussain
Memories of a boyhood helping out in his family's store in Coney Island and learning to play pinball
![Vietnamese Refugees, 1980s. Photo by Phil Eggman/U.S. Dept of Defense](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/2940/images/vietnamese_boat_people_large.jpg?itok=lWl7pvFk&c=13384867b84c7661c2b1b594078d4885)
Mr. Luong
Coney Island homeowner recalls fleeing Vietnam with his family in 1981 and settling in New York City
![Gerard Thornton](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/10874/images/gerard.jpg?itok=LHSf8fzM&c=fd91ad811db5c4d38a2dfdd9e3b642c9)
Gerard Thornton
A childhood watching boats in the Coney Island Channel led to the founding of a tugboat company
![Photo courtesy of Alexander Vindman](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/10866/images/alexander_vindman.jpg?itok=NyO5xdsY&c=b5169ca88906d08eb303c59af50f199d)
Alexander Vindman
Retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who emigrated from Ukraine to Brighton Beach as a child
![Photo courtesy of Josh Wolfe](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/10862/images/josh-wolfe.jpg?itok=4O_Bnd-7&c=ea17bcad5ffc626653de1c783c0dfc2e)
Josh Wolfe
Chairman of Coney Island Prep on growing up in Coney Island and the charter school's first 15 years
![Portrait of Mary Engel at the Orkin/Engel Archive, NYC, 2021. Credit: Janette Beckmann](https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/oral_history_thumbnail_bw/public/interviews/10845/images/mary_engel_photo_by_janette_beckmann.png?itok=9f8oCSdr&c=d7ecde22cce276f277224b254513937e)
Mary Engel
Filmmaker and archivist whose parents collaborated on the film Little Fugitive in Coney Island