Oral History Archive

Filtering by 2000 - 2009 back to all

Sarah Beetson

UK illustrator based in Australia who created her own summer-long artist residency in Coney Island

Viktor Vassiliev

New York Bread co-owner talks about baking 30 different kinds of Russian bread in Coney Island

Jorge Gallegos

Working year-round at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park for 30 years

Anthony Martire

A family tradition of raising and racing homing pigeons in Coney Island

Bonnie Kong

Growing up in Coney Island and becoming invested in the community

Martine Emile

Longtime Coney Island resident and cinematographer for a series of indie films shot here

Georganna Deas

Coney Island resident Georganna Deas has spent forty years advocating for a better Coney Island

David Head

David Head tells the story of African-American inventor Granville T. Woods and his electric roller coaster

Gabriel Valencia

Twenty years as part of the family at Gregory & Paul's and Paul's Daughter on the Coney Island Boardwalk

Marina Rubin

Ukrainian emigre writer and author of Stealing Cherries, a collection of flash fiction

Basil Jones

Jamaican-born chef at Footprints Caribbean Cafe in Coney Island and originator of Rasta Pasta

Theresa Giovinni

Coney Island resident who moved here as a high school student talks about her neighborhood

Boris Kotlyar

Mermaid Spa founder talks about bringing the Russian banya tradition to Coney Island

Cornel Chan

"The Elvis of the East" and founder of Brooklyn Chinese-American Assn. Chorus

Tatyana Panteleyeva

From Tbilisi, Georgia to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Junaid Anwar

Pakistani immigrant and Lincoln High School graduate recounts living on West 15th Street

Takeshi Yamada

Osaka-born artist creates sideshow curiosities in his Coney Island home

Joe Lazzaro

A member of the Iceberg Athletic Club from 1971-2007