As we near the end of 2022, the Coney Island History Project pays tribute to four Brooklynites that we lost this year who recorded their stories for our oral history archive: Charles Berkman, Sheldon Krimsky, Joe Lazzaro, and Aldo Mancusi. Their...
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We're sad to learn that our friend Michael Goldstein, known as "Looch," passed away on December 16 at the age of 78 in North Carolina after heart surgery. A longtime game operator on Coney Island's Bowery, he started out in 1954 as a 12-year-old,...
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We were deeply saddened to hear that long time Coney Island resident and advocate Alfie Davis had passed away. She was a stylish, determined woman who cared deeply about her community and the environment, especially Coney Island Creek. Her passing...
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Ruthie and Shorty, Astroland Park, 2006
Ruth Magwood, our friend who passed away last week, loved lighthouses. Her house across the street from Coney Island Creek Park was filled with lighthouse photos and books and statues. She loved Coney...
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Allan Yussim celebrating his birthday aboard Dennis Vourderis's fishing boat, 2019.
We were sad to learn that our friend Allan Yussim passed away last week at the age of 77. Allan was a really funny guy and an important member of the Deno's...
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We're sad to learn that our friend Gene Ritter, a Coney Island native, environmental advocate, commercial diver, and educator, passed away on November 19 at the age of 59. Gene battled his illness for so long and with such a vengeance that it's...
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Gregory Bitetzakis in 2001. Photo © Charles Denson
Over the weekend, we were saddened to learn of the death of our friend Gregory Bitetzakis, who passed away unexpectedly on January 17 at the age of 81. Until his retirement in 2009, Gregory co-...
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Pastor Debbe Santiago of the Salt and Sea Mission passed away on February 4th and will be missed by all who knew her. "Debbe Santiago was a saint who helped the helpless, fed the hungry, protected at-risk children, and ministered to the downtrodden...
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RIP Stewart "Stewie" Glass, Coney Island game operator for the past 50+ years. He passed away after suffering a heart attack. For the past two seasons, Stewie ran a balloon game on the Bowery. The basketball game in Charles Denson's 2007 portrait...
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When Jimmy McCullough visited the History Project to sit for an interview a few years back, I felt that I was in the presence of Coney royalty. He was a man of few words, quiet and hardworking and, like most of the Coney old-timers, someone who...
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