Mr. Cyclone 2010
Joshua, posed here with Miss Cyclone Angie Pontani, took a break from his busy schedule the day he was voted Mr. Cyclone 2010 to talk with us at the History Project. He explains the highlights of the competition and some of the things he'll...
Content type: Oral History Item
Grew up in Coney Island
At 57 years old, Lauragay remembers many particulars of Coney Island from her childhood and teenage years, including exact addresses and years in which events took place. She remembers, for example, Ocean Tide and Ravenhall pools, Mary's and...
Content type: Oral History Item
Member of the Seven Immortals
John recalls being a member of The Seven Immortals, a Coney Island gang, back in the 1970's. He talks about joining forces with the other gang in the area, Homicides Inc., to defend Coney Island from gangs from other neighborhoods. John's...
Content type: Oral History Item
Worked at the RKO Tilyou Theater
John Landi worked as the house electrician for the RKO Tilyou Theater in the early 1960's when the Tilyou family still operated the theater. He was 19 years old when he started the job and stayed for two or three years. John describes his...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of Tunnels of Love ride operator John Kavakos
Neal recalls his father, John Kavakos, a "street urchin" from Greece who came to Coney Island and built the Tunnels of Love at the Bowery and 12th Street. The attraction consisted of a serene boat ride that took passengers past various...
Content type: Oral History Item
Lived in Coney Island since 1961
Dorothy moved to Coney Island in 1961 from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. She has also lived in Brighton Beach and Ocean Parkway and remembers "the west side" near Seabreeze Park (now known as Asser Levy Park). She...
Content type: Oral History Item
Photographing his Coney Island neighborhood for 50 years
Abe Feinstein moved with his wife and children to Luna Park Houses in 1962 and lived there for 31 years. Working at a camera store, he could get discounts on film and processing, which enabled him to take as many photos as he wished. He had a habit...
Content type: Oral History Item
Former resident theater artist at Coney Island USA
Fourty-four-year-old Joseph, a former "focalizer" for the Rainbow Nation, gives us a spiritual, mystical take on Coney Island. He used to come to Coney with his parents as a young child, lived in Sea Gate from age 10 to 19 and, in the 80...
Content type: Oral History Item
First in line for a ride on the Cyclone
Erik Knapp of the rock band Mystical Children arrives in the middle of the night to be the first person in line to ride the Cyclone on opening day. He shows off his fresh tattoo of the ride's top hill.
Content type: Oral History Item
Avid weekender in Coney Island
Pat Lingenbach recalls her weekend visits to Coney Island as a child and teenager growing up in Riverdale, New York in the 1930's and 40's. Pat's mother was friends with Evelyn Mangels and according to Pat, Evelyn played matchmaker...
Content type: Oral History Item