By: Ariella T., Nicholas A., Janice F.
LINK TO WALKING TOUR VIDEO:
Walking through Coney Island is like going through history. The train pulled over into the massive train station: the heart of Coney Island’s success story. Walking out, we could see the Parchute Jump in the horizon of this clear sunny afternoon in March. We walked to the Boardwalk to see the Coney Island of old and new trying to coexist together. As the first sign we saw said: “Thor Equities and Brooklyn Welcome You to Coney Island!” The sights of Coney Island’s amusements, whether it be the famous Cyclone or the colorful roller-coasters in Luna Park, always catch your eye. Given that it is the off-season, we were delighted to see the Boardwalk clear of crowds and annoying tourists. Some of us recalled the memories we had from summers long ago. Growing up in Southern Brooklyn means that Coney Island has had some impact on your life no matter how small. We were not just here to admire the Boardwalk and the amusement parks; we were here to explore the part of Coney Island that is not talked about. Much of Coney Island is low-income and housing projects tower over streets such as Mermaid Avenue. We explored the area and observed a couple key traits: abandoned lots and homes are plentiful; a lack of supermarkets puts a need of having multiple delis; and there is litter and garbage by the street. We even recall oldies eerily booming out of an apartment in one of the projects by Mermaid Avenue. We concluded our tour by walking down Neptune Avenue, which is mostly auto-shops.
So, just a bit of history about Coney Island:
Coney Island was a developed resort with safe bathing, grand vistas, and waves in the 1820s. It was mostly meant for businessmen and merchants who had the money and time to spend at the resorts. In the 1860s, Coney Island became an extension of New York Bowery, an amusement for a less rich crowd. In 1876, Coney Island became infested with diseases. In 1897, George C. Tilyou begins to take over Coney Island by building amusement parks and a boardwalk. Robert Moses supersedes Tilyou and is known for practically destroying Coney Island. He tried to rid Coney Island of all the amusement parks, as well as urban renewal (Title I) in 1949. Most recently, Thor Equities has been trying to take over Coney Island.
And as for Brighton Beach, Brighton Beach was a place with refreshing waters that most people came to in the summers. It was developed in the 1870s by William Engleman, who built the beach with hotels, fairgrounds, and a bathing pavilion for a broad cross section of social groups. The area also had three racing tracks, one in Brighton beach, making it the racing capital of America. West Brighton eventually became and amusement park.
Brighton Beach in terms of the neighborhood feels like the Lower East Side. In the 1940s, it was a place for Jews from the Holocaust to escape because there were no available housing in the LES. During the 1960s-1970s, there were new arrivals but crime rates and empty apartments still were prevalent because of NYC budget cuts. It finally transformed to Little Odessa in the 1970s when Russian and Ukrainian immigrants came, mostly due to NYANA caseworkers hoped that since the neighborhood was already mostly Eastern European, the immigrants would fare well.
