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
Larry Marquit
Growing up in Sea Gate and Coney Island in the 1930s and '40s
Stella Bacolas
Growing up in Greece and living in Coney Island's Luna Park Houses since the 1970s
Mort Shatzkin
Memories of growing up in Coney Island and the family business, Shatzkin's Famous Knishes
Sofya Dudnik
Embroidery artist and Coney Island resident who emigrated from Moscow in 2010
Ben Roubin
Memories of growing up at Villanova Court, a bungalow resort in Coney Island, in the 1950s and '60s
Ronald Kannatt (The Prince of Coney Island)
Twenty years at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park's Karaoke on the Boardwalk
Diana Wiener
Growing up in Sea Gate and Coney Island in the 1940s and '50s and moving back in the mid-1960s
Angela Kravtchenko
Architect who is a Coney Island resident and a community activist
JR Lopez
Memories of growing up on West 35th Street in Coney Island in the 1990s
Sofya Lobova
A longtime resident of Haber Houses and leader of the Russian-speaking community
Stuart Waldman
Memories of growing up in Coney Island in the 1940s and '50s and fun summer jobs
Sonia Solano
Reflections on raising a family and working in Coney Island in the 1990s and 2000s
Karen Wilcox
Memories of living in Luna Park Houses and going to Coney Island bathhouses in the 1960s