President of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the past 12 years and a member since the 1980s
Dennis Thomas, the president of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club for the past 12 years, shares memories of his first swim with the club - "That's crazy, I want to do it!"- and feeling drawn to the desolate yet haunting atmosphere of Coney Island in...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Island homeowner for 19 years enjoys organic gardening and walking on the boardwalk
This interview was conducted and recorded in Mandarin Chinese. Read Yolanda Zhang's transcript and translation below:
本采访以国语进行并记录下来。以下请阅读张月恒的笔录和翻译。
Linda Zhang was born in 1967 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China....
Content type: Oral History Item
Retired Coney Island arcade operator recalls his family's 30-plus years in the business
Stan Fox's family operated arcades in Coney Island from 1949 through 1981, including Playland Arcade. Born in 1944, Stan recalls his earliest memories of living in a railroad flat on Mermaid Avenue, watching the trolley cars go by, and playing in...
Content type: Oral History Item
Tai chi master who was born in China shares memories of practicing and teaching his art in Brooklyn
This interview was conducted in Mandarin Chinese with Master Lin by oral historian Yiyi Zhang on May 6th 2019. This is an edited version of the interview due to the interruptions and length of the original one. Below is the interview’s description...
Content type: Oral History Item
A 90-year-old Coney Island resident recounts her journey from Moscow to Southern Brooklyn
This interview was conducted and recorded in Russian. Read Julia Kanin's transcript and translation below. Интервью проведено и записано на русском языке. Вы можете ознакомиться с траснскриптом и переводом Юлии Ханиной ниже.
Yeva Novik, 90, an...
Content type: Oral History Item
A Sea Gate resident who is a Coney Island Polar Bear talks about the pleasures of winter swimming
This interview was conducted and recorded in Russian. Read Julia Kanin's transcript and translation below. Интервью проведено и записано на русском языке. Вы можете ознакомиться с траснскриптом и переводом Юлии Ханиной ниже.
A native of Kuban,...
Content type: Oral History Item
Artist who used traditional Chinese paper cutting to create public art in Bay Parkway subway station
This interview was conducted and recorded in Mandarin Chinese. Read Ruonan Zheng's transcript and translation below:
该采访是用普通话中文进行并录制的。请阅读以下郑若楠的采访原文及翻译：
Xin Song is the creator of Tree of Life, a public art piece installed in the mezzanine window...
Content type: Oral History Item
Coney Islander, musician/songwriter in alt-rock band Newborn, lifeguard
Allen James grew up on West 5th Street in Coney Island, which he describes as near the border of Brighton Beach and "the best of both worlds," noting that "it was the perfect place to grow up as a kid in Brooklyn." He still lives in the neighborhood...
Content type: Oral History Item
Memories of growing up in Coney Island Houses in the 1980s and '90s
Crystal Isley recalls the excitement of moving to Coney Island Houses from Williamsburg with her family on the day before her fifth birthday. With her bedroom window overlooking the beach and the sounds of the ocean lulling her to sleep, "I felt it...
Content type: Oral History Item
A filmmaker and film editor from Taiwan living in Brighton Beach
This interview was conducted and recorded in Mandarin Chinese. Read Ruonan Zheng's transcript and translation below:
该采访是用普通话中文进行并录制的。请阅读以下郑若楠的采访原文及翻译：
Yanglun Hsiao, a filmmaker and film editor from Taiwan, has lived in Brooklyn off and on since...
Content type: Oral History Item