Hometown New York City Brooklyn

For people living in small to mid-size hometowns, it is easy to write about their towns. However, for someone like me who was born and raised in New York City, it is rather difficult. Therefore I will look upon the borough of Brooklyn as my small town away from the teeming streets of Manhattan and the other boroughs. If you know about Brooklyn and find a neighborhood missing it is just that I wrote about all the ones I knew and where I have been. I was born in a very quiet corner of Brooklyn called Bay Ridge so I began my tour there. As I continue I will paste the links for the neighborhoods I have written about below.

Coney Island is a peninsula in the southernmost corner of Brooklyn, New York with a beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood of the same name is a community of 60,000 people in the western part of the peninsula. The area was a major resort and site of amusement parks reaching its peak in the early 20th century.

Coney Island is the westernmost of the barrier islands of Long Island. In the early years, it used to be an island, separated from the main part of Brooklyn by Coney Island Creek. There were plans into the 20th century to dredge and straighten the creek as a ship canal. However, these plans were abandoned and the center of the creek was filled in for construction of the Belt Parkway before WWII. The western and eastern ends are now peninsulas.

As of the year 2000, there were 51,205 people living in Coney Island. A mixture of Black or African American, White, Hispanic or Latin American, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islanders, and other ethnicities.

How did Coney Island get its name? The Lenape, the Native American inhabitants called the island Narrioch which means “land without shadows”. This was because as with other south shore Long Island beaches, its compass orientation keeps the beach area in sunlight all day. The Dutch name for the island was Conyne Eylandt meaning Rabbit Island. This name can be found on the New Netherlands map of 1639 by Johannes Vingaboon. (New York State and New York City were originally a Dutch colony and settlement, named Nieuw Nederlandt and Nieuw Amsterdam). As on other Long Island barrier islands, Coney Island had many and diverse rabbits and rabbit hunting prospered until resort development began.

It is generally accepted that Coney Island is an English adaptation of the Dutch name, Konijnen Eiland. Coney is also an archaic and dialectal English word for rabbit. The English name ‘Conney Isle” was used on maps as early as 1690 and by 1733 the modern spelling “Coney Island” was used.

Coney Island became a resort after the Civil War as excursion railroads and the Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad streetcar line reached the area in the 1860s and the Iron Steamboat Company in 1881. Along with these came major hotels and public and private beaches. They were followed by horse racing, amusement parks, and less reputable forms of entertainment such as Three-Card Monte, other gambling entrepreneurs, and prostitution.

When the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company electrified the steam railroads and connected Brooklyn to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge at the beginning of the 20th century, Coney Island turned rapidly from a resort to an accessible location for day-trippers seeking to escape the summer heat in the tenements of New York City.

Charles I.D. Looff, a Danish woodcarver, built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. It was installed at Vandeveer’s bath-house complex at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue. Later the complex became known as Balmer’s Pavilion. The carousel consisted of hand-carved horses and animals standing two abreast. Two musicians, a drummer, and a flute player provided the music. A metal ring arm hung on a pole outside the ride and fed small, iron rings for eager riders to grab. The riders were protected from the weather by a tent-top and the fare for a ride was five cents.

From 1885 to 1896 the Coney Island Elephant was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving in New York. They would see it before they saw the Statue of Liberty. The Coney Island Elephant was a hotel and brothel in the shape of an elephant. In 1885 this hotel also known as the Elephantine Colossus was built by James V. Lafferty. It stood 122 feet high with seven floors and had 31 rooms. The hotel became associated with prostitution which led to the phrase “going to see the elephant”. In 1896 the Coney Island Elephant burnt down in one of the Island’s many fires.

Nathan’s Famous original hot dog stand opened on Coney Island in 1916 and quickly became a landmark. Since its opening on July 4th an annual eating contest was begun. In 1915 the Sea Beach line was upgraded to a subway line and the opening of the New West End Terminal in 1919 ushered in Coney Island’s busiest era. After WWII air conditioning in movie theaters and in homes, along with the advent of automobiles which could provide access to the less crowded and more appealing Long Island state parks, especially Jones Beach, lessened the attractions of Coney Island’s beaches. Luna Park closed in 1946 after a series of fires and street gang problems of the 1950s spilled into Coney Island. The local economy was further impacted by the closing of Steeplechase Park, the last of the major amusement parks in 1964.

Between about 1880 and WWII Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the U.S. attracting several million visitors per year. At its height, it contained three competing major amusement parks, Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park, as well as many independent amusements.

Dreamland – Opened in Coney Island in 1904 and operated till 1911. Dreamland was created by a Tammany Hall-connected businessman named William H. Reynolds. This amusement park was supposed to be high-class entertainment, with elegant architecture, pristine white towers, and some educational exhibits along with the rides and thrills. It was reputed to have one million electric light bulbs illuminating and outlining its buildings which was a novelty at that time.

Among the attractions at Dreamland were a railway that ran through a Swiss Alpine landscape, imitation Venetian canals with gondolas, a “Lilliputian Village” with three hundred dwarf inhabitants, and a demonstration of firefighting in which two thousand people pretended to put out a blazing six-story building. Side shows were owned by the Dicker family who also owned the hotel next to the park. There was a display of baby incubators, where premature babies were cared for and exhibited. The story of the first premature triplet infants is especially interesting. The triplets belonged to the Dicker family. Doctors advised the Dickers of the new invention but said they couldn’t use it because incubators were not yet approved for hospital use. So the triplets were placed in the side show. Two of them survived to live out their full lives.

To gain publicity for Dreamland the park put famous Broadway actress Marie Dressler in charge of the peanut and popcorn stands with young boys dressed as imps in red flannel acting as salesmen. Dressler was said to be in love with Dreamland’s handsome, handlebar-mustachioed, one-armed lion tamer who went by the name of Captain Bonavita.

To better attract people the once-white buildings were painted in bright colors and on the night before opening day a ride called Hell Gate which took visitors on a boat ride on rushing waters through dim caverns was being repaired. A leak had to be caulked with tar. While these repairs were being made in the early morning of Saturday, May 27, 1911, the light bulbs that illuminated the operations began to explode. In the darkness, a worker kicked over a bucket of hot pitch and soon Hell Gate was in flames. The fire quickly spread throughout the park since at that time the buildings were constructed of very flammable material. There was a new high-pressure water pumping station at Twelfth Street and Neptune Avenue but this night not enough water was available to contain the fire before it enveloped Dreamland. By morning Dreamland was a smoldering, soggy mess and was abandoned after the fire of 1911.

Steeplechase Park – Another amusement park on Coney Island that lasted from 1897 to 1964. It was created by George C. Tilyou, who grew up in a family that owned a Coney Island restaurant. While visiting the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, he saw a Ferris Wheel and decided to build his own on Coney Island. Soon it became the resort's most famous attraction. Afterward, he added other rides and attractions, including a mechanical horse race course from which the park derived its name. TiltYou constructed scale models of world landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and The Palace of Westminster’s clock tower, containing Big Ben.

Steeplechase burned during the 1907 season destroying most of the park but it was rebuilt for the 1908 season but not fully opened until 1909. At the close of the 1939 World’s Fair, Tilyou purchased the fair’s Parachute Drop and moved it to Steeplechase. This ride operated until Steeplechase closed in 1964.

The tower of the Parachute Drop was declared a landmark in 1977 and added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Luna Park – Operated in Coney Island from 1903 to 1944. The park’s creators Frederic Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy, created a very successful ride called “A Trip to the Moon” which was a part of the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 in Buffalo, New York. The name of the winged spacecraft (which was not a rocket, but flapped its wings) was Luna, the Latin word for the moon. Among the amusements at Luna Park were domesticated elephants. To promote the park a song was recorded by Billy Murray in 1905 called “Meet Me Down at Luna Lena”.

A pair of fires damaged Luna Park in 1944 destroying much of it. It was not rebuilt. This year a new reconstructed Luna Park opened on May 29, 2010. Its entrance looks a lot like the one of the original parks in 1903. It was built on the ground of the former Astroland which closed after the 2008 season.

Three rides at Coney Island are protected as designated N.Y.C. landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Wonder Wheel was built in 1918 and opened in 1920. The steel Ferris wheel has both stationary and rocking cars that slide along a track. It holds 144 riders, stands 150 ft. (46 m) tall, and weighs over 2,000 tons. At night the Wonder Wheel’s steel frame is outlined and illuminated by neon tubes. It is part of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park.

The Cyclone roller coaster was built in 1927. It is one of the nation’s oldest wooden roller coasters still in operation. It is located across the street from the new Luna Park.

The Parachute Jump which was mentioned previously after an official lighting ceremony in July 2006 was slated to be lit year-round using different color motifs to represent the seasons. However, this idea was scraped when N.Y.C. started conserving electricity in the summer months.

Coney Island is also the location of the New York Aquarium which opened in 1957. It occupies 14 acres by the sea and boasts over 350 species of aquatic wildlife.

Coney Island still maintains a broad sandy beach from West 37th Street at Seagate through Coney Island and Brighton Beach to the beginning of the community of Manhattan Beach a distance of approximately 2 ½ miles (4.0 km). The beach is continuous and is served for its entire length by a broad Riegelmann boardwalk. A number of amusements are directly accessible from the land side of the boardwalk as is the New York Aquarium and a variety of food shops and arcades.

The beach is groomed and replenished on a regular basis by the city. The entire beach is in sunlight all day. There is no charge to use the beach. The beach area is divided into “bays” areas of beach delineated by rock jetties, which moderate erosion and the force of ocean waves.

The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is a group of people who swim at Coney Island throughout the winter months, most notably on New Year’s Day when additional participants join them to swim in the frigid waters. The rest of the year, Coney Island Beach serves as a training area for the Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers, a group dedicated to promoting open water swimming for individuals at all levels, and to improving of water quality of New York City's beaches and rivers.

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade, which takes place on Surf Avenue and the boardwalk, features floats and various acts, has been produced annually by Coney Island U.S.A. a non-profit organization which is dedicated to preserving the dignity of American popular culture. This group also produces the Coney Island Film Festival, Burlesque at the Beach, and Creepshow of the Freakshow (an interactive Halloween-themed event) and houses the Coney Island Museum.

The neighborhoods of Coney Island, running eastward are Sea Gate (a private community), Coney Island proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. Its main subway station is called Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and is reached by the New York City Subway trains D, F, N, and Q. The terminal is the largest subway station in North America with 8 tracks serving the 4 lines that use the station. There is a large solar-panel canopy covering all 8 tracks. The three main avenues in the Coney Island community are (north-south) Neptune Avenue, Mermaid Avenue, and Surf Avenue. The majority of Coney Island’s population resides in thirty 18 to 24-story towers, Since the 1990s there has been a steady revitalization of the area. Many townhouses were built on empty lots, popular franchises have set up shop and Keyspan Park was built to serve as the home for the Cyclones, a minor league baseball team in the New York Mets’ farm system. Once home to many Jewish residents, most of those living in Coney Island today are African-American, Italian-American, Hispanic, and recent Russian and Ukrainian immigrants.

The Neighborhoods of Coney Island

Seagate is a private, gated community at the far western end of Coney Island. The community contains mostly single-family homes, some directly on Gravesend Bay. It is regularly patrolled by the Sea Gate Police Department which was established in 1899, though the New York City Police Department has joint jurisdiction over it. The Chapel with its stained glass windows is the first structure seen when entering the main (police-protected) gate. The Chapel was once used for services. It was built in 1901 and is now a historical building used for social events and as a polling site at election time.

In addition to the large and private beach areas, Sea Gate also has two parks:

Lindbergh Park has a playground with a basketball court, skateboard ramps, and a children’s jungle gym. It is located next to the Sea Gate Community Center on Surf Avenue. Across from the community center is the Sea Gate Beach Club which offers entertainment, dining, one of Sea Gate’s private beaches, and two swimming pools.

Lindbergh Park near the Coney Island Light at Norton’s Point is a sandy/grassy patch of land with stunning views of Lower New York Harbor and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. “Lindy Park” as it is known to residents, has a children’s playground. Spectacular panoramic ocean/bay views and space for sitting, picnicking, kite flying, baseball or just enjoying the ocean. The beaches in Sea Gate are uncrowded and patrolled during the summer by lifeguards.

Brighton Beach is bordered by Coney Island at Ocean Parkway to the west, affluent Manhattan Beach at Corbin Place to the east, Gravesend at Neptune Avenue to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It is patrolled by the NYPD’s 60th Precinct. Brighton Beach was developed by William A. Engeman as a beach resort in 1868 and was named by Henry C. Murphy and a group of businessmen in an 1878 contest the winning name evoked the resort of Brighton, England.

The centerpiece of the resort was the large Hotel Brighton (or Brighton Beach Hotel) placed on the beach at Coney Island Avenue and accessed by the Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway, later known as the BMT Brighton Line which opened on July 2, 1878. When winter storms put the hotel in danger of being engulfed by the sea it was decided to move the hotel further inland. The plan was to move the building in one piece. Engineered by B.C. Miller the move began on April 2. 1888 and continued for the next nine days, being the largest building move of the 19th century.

Adjacent to the hotel, Engeman built the Brighton Beach Race Course for Thoroughbred horse racing. The 1950s brought with it a neighborhood consisting mostly of second-generation Jewish Americans and a number of concentration camp survivors. Notable establishments included Diamond’s (a small clothing store owned by the parents of singer Neil Diamond), Irving’s Deli, and the New Deal Chinese Restaurant. Summer brought crowds to the beaches. Today the area has a large community of Jewish immigrants who left the former Soviet Union between 1970 and the present day. Among the charitable organizations serving the Russian-speaking community is the Russian Community Life Center which provides a variety of classes and programs. Brighton Beach was dubbed “Little Odesa” by the locals due to the fact that many of its residents came from Odesa, a city in Ukraine.

Brighton Beach is replete with restaurants, food stores, cafes, boutiques, banks, etc. Located primarily along Brighton Beach Avenue and its cross streets.

Manhattan Beach – is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, by Sheepshead Bay to the north, and Brighton Beach to the west. Traditionally known as an Italian and Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood, it is also home to a sizable community of Sephardi Jews and a large Russian Jewish presence. It is known for being one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn with some of the borough's most expensive real estate. It was developed in the last quarter of the 19th century as a resort by Austin Corbin, later president of the Long Island Rail Road. For recreation, there is Manhattan Beach Park which is located east of Ocean Avenue at the North Shore Rockaway Inlet along Oriental Boulevard.

The beach on Brooklyn’s southern tip is a popular summer destination for people from all over New York City. Families can picnic, barbeque, lay on the sand and swim in the waves. It is book ended by playgrounds and with two large baseball diamonds on the eastern border as well as tennis, volleyball, basketball and handball.

Visitors would come to the resort and stay at the Oriental Hotel or the Manhattan Beach Hotel and attend concerts by bandmaster John Philip Sousa who composed the Manhattan Beach March in 1893 to commemorate the resort. The opening of amusement parks coupled with the closing of racetracks in 1910 on nearby Coney Island led to the swift decline of the hotels.

The streets of Manhattan Beach are arranged alphabetically from Amherst to Pembroke and named after places in England. The children of Manhattan Beach have had a seaside resort of their own at the Manhattan Beach Playground since it was renovated in 1997. New features include modular play equipment, benches, shade trees, swings, a water fountain, a sprinkler system, as well as animal art and wrought-iron fencing depicting decorative motifs of the ocean and marine life.

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