Dear Mr. Coney Island...
I used to stay part of the summer with my aunt in Greenpoint. One day she gave me a choice of going to the movies or going to Coney Island. Although I loved Coney Island, I hated the train ride so I chose the movies. The next day, she told me that it was good that I chose the movies because somebody shot-up Coney Island and nine people died. This would have been 1960 or so. Did this shooting really happen? I've googled it with no results. Thank you!
- Elaine
Hello Elaine,
The shooting took place in 1962. Two policemen died and six others were shot. It was a turning point for Coney's reputation. I remember it well. The incident is mentioned in the book: Coney Island Lost and Found. Here is a partial clipping:
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I live in Coney Island currently. To tell you, I haven't heard of this story yet. But Coney Island has been having some tough times with criminals recently. I think the summer of 2011 there was a shooting at Tatiana restaurant which is located at about Brighton 6th or 7th streets (I'm not good with locations). And the criminal was recognized by the police and they said they've encountered him at a crime scene before. I don't think there were too many deaths, maybe one or two, and the same amount were injured. A man was hit with a bottle over the head and had to go to the hospital. In October, a woman was shot 3 times by a man riding on a bike and died. This happened a block away from where I live.
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