Just like the rest of our senses, touch is strongly associated with the weather when visiting Coney Island. Our sense of touch changed as the temperatures and textures of what we touched changed with the season.

Michelle running her fingers along a bench on the pier

Day 1: March 17th SNOW

  • The white snow is untouched by humans except for the few footprints.
  • The footprints form an indentation in the snow making the snow underneath the footprints harder and outlined by the rough bottoms of people’s shoes.
  • We sink into the snow crunching underneath our feet, unable to hold our weight.
  • We touch the wet condensed snow from the past snow storm.
  • Our fingertips burn from cold as the snow seeps through our woven gloves.
  • The sand is covered in snow, but underneath that snow the sand is damp, cold and grainy.
  • As we walk along the peer towards the water the wind burns our cheeks and we feel our lips begin to chap.
  • We feel our breath turn misty as we breath out warm air into our frigid surroundings.
  • The metal rails are cold and smooth to the touch.
  • The smooth wood benches are warmer than the railings, but not as smooth. We can feel the grooves and apparent lines of the wood as we run our fingers along the wood.
A more crowded boardwalk on a warm spring day

Day 2: April 3rd SUN!

  • We feel the wood boards of the boardwalk bounce back, clear of snow.
  • The wooden boards face in different directions. It is easier to walk on those that are straight rather than those that are tilted.
  • The texture of the wood today is different. We can feel the difference in every slat of wood. Some are perfectly smooth while others are cut by deep lines.
  • Between each wooden panel there is space large enough to pass a wooden pencil, but not a finger.
  • The lighter slats are smoother than the darker ones; they feel newer.
  • The wooden planks on the floor have far more grooves than those of the bench. Thousands of feet have worn them through in comparison to the bench.
  • The metal railings, though still cold are warmer today. The smooth metal reflects the heat of the sun, but does not burn to the touch as they would on a summer day.
  • The boardwalk is crowded today. I brush against coarse jean fabric. I feel a hairy arm push past me.
  • The sand is not wet today; it is free from the cold snow, allowing it to absorb the heat of the sun. The grains are separated and more grainy to touch than the wet globs on March 17th.
  • Today we are able to go down to the water. It is colder than expected. We feel the murky water, filled with seaweed and grains of sand.
  • The sand moves underneath our shoes. We sink into the sand (and not snow) allowing sand to make its way into our shoes. We feel the grains underneath our socked toes.
  • The sun bakes our exposed skin. The heat is thicker when passing through the crowds, but a sea breeze cools the air.

 

Day 3: May 7th Chilly

Outside of Coney’s Cones
  • We shiver from the unexpected cold in May.
  • Ruthie feels a finger go numb, but she’s a special case.
  • Our metro cards swipe between our fingertips. We push past the smooth metal turnstiles. We feel the cold of the metal through our jeans or skirt.
  • The breeze at the raised platform is even colder.
  • We snag two seats on the platform, the three of us huddling together to stay warm as we had not worn the right jackets for the unexpected weather.
  • The wood seat is smooth. Almost as smooth as the newer benches at coney island. The seat has patches of unidentifiable material. We run a finger over to make sure it is safe to sit. The material is bumpy, but smooth and definitely dry.
  • We walk onto the train. Cold metal subway poles shock our fingertips.
  • It is not so crowded. We find seats on the plastic benches. We feel the cold air conditioning down our necks.
  • As we walk from the Stillwell Ave station we notice the sidewalk is slightly uneven. Rachel nearly trips on a pothole in the street.
  • The winds pick up as we get closer to the boardwalk, blowing us away and slapping our skin.
  • The boardwalk is emptier than our last visit, without a crowd to buffer the wind.
  • We hug the bumpy Coney’s Cone outside the shop for a photo. It is cold like the metal rails. The ice cream top has smooth swirling indents, while the bottom of the cone has a geometrical pattern.
  • The lumpy sand moves beneath our shoes. The sand is slightly colder than our last trip from the lack of sun to heat it, but the texture is similar.
  • The wind blew sand into our eyes when we bent down.
  • Our eyes teared from the wind and sand, causing us to sniff from runny noises.