Oral History Archive

Tony Williams

Growing up in Coney Island as a teenager in the 1960s and '70s

Ellina Graypel

Singer, musician and composer who lives in Sea Gate

Cuzzo Sosay

Musical inspiration and meditation at Coney Island

Joyce Chopra

Groundbreaking filmmaker grew up in Sea Gate and on Mermaid Avenue

Nasim Almuntaser

Brooklyn College history student grew up working in his family's bodega in Brighton Beach

Reverend Cliff Herring

The Roller Coaster Reverend shares stories of Cyclone weddings

Olga Martynchuk

Mother of professional boxing star Nikita Ababiy

Jen Kepler

Educator at New York Aquarium and passionate observer of Brooklyn wildlife

Ellen Abrams

Memories of growing up on West 29th Street and meeting her lifeguard husband on Coney Island Beach

Monica Ghee

Coney Island native and longtime independent game operator on Jones Walk

Tara Altebrando

Author of Dreamland Social Club, a novel set in Coney Island, who got engaged on the Wonder Wheel

Alan Fine

Memories of Washington Baths Annex in the 1950s and meeting his wife there when they were children

Martin Abrams

Brooklynite who was a lifeguard in the 1950s and met his wife of 60 years on Coney Island Beach

Natalie Johnson

Memories of having a season locker at Ravenhall and Washington Baths Annex in the 1950s and '60s

Ita Bullard

Horace and Ita Bullard's attempt to transform Coney Island

Stanislav Baev

Coney Island resident and founder of the not-for-profit American Alliance for Protection of Animals

Jeffrey Berman

Longtime Sea Gate resident and watercolor artist who teaches at Seaside Innovative Senior Center

Carole Scheer

Her father, Anthony Cosmo Pomaro, owned Cosmo Topper's Beauty Parlor on Mermaid Avenue