Oral History Archive

Ralph Avella

Memories of working on the Coney Island Parachute Jump's operation crew at age 16

April Leong

Founder and principal of Coney Island's Liberation Diploma Plus High School

Ronald Stewart

Community activist and resident of Coney Island for more than 50 years

Lu Zhao

Calligrapher recounts his artistic journey from China's Guangdong Province to Brooklyn's Bensonhurst

Tiana Camacho

A voice actor's reflections on how growing up in Coney Island in the 1990s shaped her imagination

Lolita Divilova

Community Board 13 member and Brightwater Towers homeowner and board member

Tim Law

Bilingual educator and founder of Chinese American Social Services Center in Bensonhurst

Norman Stock

Poet who grew up in Coney Island and was one of Dr. Couney's incubator babies

David Louie

David Louie's family owned the popular Wah Mee Restaurant on Mermaid Avenue

Theresa Veldez

Bungalows and fires in the West End in the 1960s

John Hunt

Model builder of roller coasters and amusement rides including the Cyclone and Deno's Wonder Wheel

Juanhua Zhao

Tai chi teacher at Coney Island's Seaside Innovative Senior Center shares her life story

Nancy Gabriel

Memories of visiting Uncle Pete, who ran a food concession at Steeplechase Pool in the 1930s-50s

Greg Birbil

Greg Birbil's father, Paul, was a candy maker who owned the Paradise Ice Cream Parlor on Surf Avenue

Michael Liff

Memories of working at the Tornado roller coaster and other Coney Island rides and games in the 1970s

Sheldon Krimsky

Memories of growing up on West 29th Street in Coney Island in the 1940s and '50s

Alonzo Kittrels

Memories of bus trips to Coney Island with the Good Will Family Club from the 1940's through 1961

Alisa Minyukova

Brooklyn artist who emigrated from Russia as a child is drawn to Ocean Parkway and Brighton Beach