CONEY ISLAND

Description

Essentials about Coney Island in brief

The Coney Island peninsula is the southernmost tip of Brooklyn, located directly on the Atlantic coast. Coney Island was and is, so to speak, the house beach and the amusement center of New Yorkers, although the once large and famous amusement parks today rather exude a nostalgic charm. Coney Island has a long and eventful history full of ups and downs.

The location and name of Coney Island

Originally, Coney Island was a true island, stretching about eight kilometers east-west and just under a kilometer wide. It was separated from Brooklyn by the Coney Island Creek strait, which was half filled in in the 1940s to make way for the Shore Parkway expressway.

The island’s name probably actually comes from the large rabbit population that populated Long Island when New York was first settled in the 17th century. However, this has not been clearly clarified historically; there are also competing legends about the origin of the name.

The history of Coney Island

19th century: Swimming, drinking, gambling and prostitution

In the 19th century, Coney Island developed into a bathing and vacation resort for wealthy American citizens who could afford to travel the good 20 kilometers from New York City for their summer retreat. In 1829, the first road connection with a bridge over Coney Island Creek was built; at the same time, the first hotel opened, and others were added in the following decades. It was mainly the nouveau riche and profiteers who built hotels on the island, but in reality they served mainly for gambling and prostitution.

In the 1880s, ocean bathing became fashionable among the upper class, which is why some of the poshest and largest beach hotels in the United States were built on Coney Island in the following years. At this time, Coney Island was also connected to the railroad network, which ensured a steadily growing stream of visitors. After the noble clientele in the hotels soon demanded diversion, three horse racing tracks were built in the 1890s. Coney Island thus became the capital of horse racing and magically attracted betting-addicted people in search of fast money. After horse betting was banned in 1908 due to pressure from the church, the racetracks were closed by 1910. With the horse races, the wealthy soon disappeared from the area, so that the posh hotels had to close in the years that followed.

However, it was the rush of less posh people that led to the construction of more establishments. The gambling halls and dubious bars were joined by third-rate theaters, show stages and downright drinking establishments. The island was thus finally characterized by alcohol, prostitution and gambling, and Coney Island’s reputation as a seaside resort was ruined.

Beginning of the 20th century: The time period of amusement parks

However, this period also saw the construction of the first amusement rides, which initially served primarily as diversions for the middle class. Roller coasters, shooting galleries, circus tents and eventually entire amusement parks soon lined the beach along the Atlantic coast. Many attractions were created from remnants of world’s fairs that had been bought together and moved to Coney Island.

With the connection to the subway, the flow of visitors continued to swell, roughly from an average of 100,000 visitors per day around 1900 to over one million in the same period of 1920. Beginning in the late 19th century, a series of momentous fires occurred on Coney Island. In 1907 and 1911, one amusement park each even burned down completely. The combination of narrow streets, buildings constructed primarily of wood, and coastal winds were ideal conditions for the flames to spread quickly. In addition, the fire department could hardly make any headway in the narrow streets.

1930s: The construction of new beach promenades

Eventually, the city government felt compelled to intervene: Surf Avenue and Bowery Street were widened in 1923 by demolishing some 175 taverns and bars. In the same year, to prevent coastal erosion, tree trunks were rammed into the ground along a four-kilometer stretch of the shoreline, forming the foundation for the new boardwalk, the nearly 25-meter-wide Riegelmann Boardwalk. Prior to this, tons of sand were dumped onto the beach, which from then on was accessible along its entire length as a public bathing beach.

1950s and 1960s: Decline and social housing construction

During the Second World War, the attractions on Coney Island were still a welcome change, but since the 1950s, destinations that were easy to reach by car had become increasingly popular, which was not the case for Coney Island at all. Poorer families moved away from Brooklyn, preferring to go to the movies or amuse themselves at home in front of the television. In place of the amusement parks, large apartment blocks were built in the 1960s, primarily for social housing, which today dominate the western part of the island.

But it was the residents of those high-rise buildings, who came from poor backgrounds, who rapidly changed the area, which was henceforth characterized by unemployment, vandalism and increased street crime. The increasingly bad reputation of the area kept more and more visitors away, so that the amusement parks had to give up. Coney Island became a no-go area, which was sometimes even deliberately left to decay so that it could later be redesigned according to new ideas. However, since these plans were hardly implemented, the area around the former amusement parks is still partly lined with ruined lots and wasteland.

The Present: Renovation and revitalization

For some time now, however, things have slowly been looking up for Coney Island. In 2009, New York City bought up almost three hectares of the area around the Broadwalk, the wooden promenade, and played a major role in restoring the last remaining amusement park, Luna Park, and all its attractions to their former glory. Luna Park is not really big, but a lot of fun is still guaranteed. Some of Luna Park’s attractions, such as the Cyclone roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel, are true landmarks from Coney Island’s history.

The increasing mixing of the population strata is also having a positive effect; unemployment and crime have declined at an above-average rate. New York City pays meticulous attention to maintaining the nostalgia factor and safety on Coney Island.

All in all, Coney Island today presents the image of an “ordinary”, somewhat run-down New York City suburb with apartment blocks, small single-family houses and various shopping centers along the city highway – and just an amusement park that rises up between some ruined lots. In addition, there is the Boardwalk and the swimming beach, which are still very well frequented on hot summer days.