Memories of a boyhood helping out in his family's store in Coney Island and learning to play pinball
Ahmed Hussain, 24, has spent every summer since he was eight in Coney Island helping out in his family's stores in the amusement area. What he enjoyed most about growing up in Coney was his friendship with the operators of Faber's Fascination...
Content type: Oral History Item
Growing up in the Russian community in Coney Island and Brighton Beach
Born in 1986, Brooklynite Sam Shlivko grew up in the Russian community in Coney Island and has lived here ever since. His parents met in Brighton Beach after emigrating from Ukraine and Belarus in the late '70s and Russian was his first language. ...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of growing up on Coney Island's first block and working in the Cyclone photobooth's darkroom
Brooklynite Mindy Gress and her family moved to Coney Island when she was 3-1/2 years old and she has lived here ever since. "I'm living in Coney Island till I die," says the resident of West 5th Street, who describes her street as the first block...
Content type: Oral History Item
Growing up Latina in Brighton Beach with a special connection to nature and the ocean
Abby Jordan is a Brighton Beach native whose Salvadorean immigrant parents have been homeowners in the community for over 35 years. After graduating from CUNY Hunter, she worked as a paralegal for an immigration project in the Bronx, a long commute...
Content type: Oral History Item
Homeowner in Coney Island's West End for almost 30 years and first member of his family to settle here
This interview was conducted and recorded in Cantonese Chinese. Read Sylvia Ching Man Wong's transcript and translation below.
本采访以粤语进行并记录下来。阅读下面的王靖雯(Sylvia Ching Man Wong)的笔录和翻译。
Kai Fung, a homeowner on West 35th Street in Coney Island’s West...
Content type: Oral History Item
Sea Gate artist, writer, educator and year-round swimmer
Hawley Hussey recounts "getting in the Gate," moving to a beach mansion in Sea Gate in 2001, her Coney Island-inspired art and writings, and swimming year-round. A member of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club as well as an ephemeral upstart group...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of growing up on West 36th Street in Coney Island's West End in the 1930s
Edith Storch, 90, grew up in the West End of Coney Island at 2762 West 36th Street near Canal Avenue. She shares memories of her immigrant parents, shops and street vendors, a nickelodeon on the pier at West 37th Street on the Bay, and Coney Island...
Content type: Oral History Item
Longtime baseball scout for the Chicago Cubs and Sea Gate resident
Billy Blitzer grew up in Brighton Beach, has lived in Sea Gate for the past 36 years, and is a pro scout for the Chicago Cubs. Baseball has been an integral part of his life since he played Little League at Coney Island's Kaiser Park and with his...
Content type: Oral History Item
Composer and lyricist of Luna Park, a musical, on chronicling the partnership of Thompson and Dundy
Lyricist Michael Cooper and composer Hyeyoung Kim met as students at NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and began working collaboratively in 2005. They talk about researching and writing Luna Park, a musical which chronicles the...
Content type: Oral History Item
Three-time International Jugglers Association champion and resident of Southern Brooklyn
Gerald Greenberg, whose professional name is Jay Green, was born in 1937 and lives in Southern Brooklyn. A three-time International Jugglers Association champion, he is best known for the innovative props he has created, including the first modern,...
Content type: Oral History Item