View source for Coney Island

{{short description|Neighborhood in New York City}}
{{other uses|Coney Island (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Coney Island
| native_name             =
| native_name_lang        = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type         = [[Neighborhoods of Brooklyn|Neighborhood]]
| image_skyline           = Coney Island beach and amusement parks (June 2016).jpg
| imagesize               = 300px
| image_alt               =
| image_caption           = Coney Island beach, amusement parks, and high-rises, as seen from the pier in June 2016
| image_flag              =
| flag_alt                =
| image_seal              =
| seal_alt                =
| image_shield            =
| shield_alt              =
| nickname="Playground of the World"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Denson |first1=Charles |title=Coney Island: Lost and Found |date=2002 |publisher=Ten Speed Press |location=Berkeley, California |isbn=9781580084550}}</ref>
| motto                   =
| image_map               = {{maplink|frame=y|plain=y|frame-align=center|zoom=12|type=shape|from=Neighbourhoods/New York City/Coney Island.map}}<!--{{maplink|frame=y|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-lat=40.705|frame-long=-73.975|zoom=9|type=point|coord={{coord|40.574|-73.978}}}}-->
| map_alt                 =
| map_caption             = Location in New York City<br>Note: red area overlaps with [[Sea Gate, Brooklyn|Sea Gate]]
| pushpin_map             = <!--USA New York City#USA New York#USA-->
| pushpin_label_position  =
| pushpin_map_alt         =
| pushpin_map_caption     = <!--Location-->
| coordinates             = {{coord|40.5750|-73.9825|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint           =
| coordinates_footnotes   =
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1       = {{flag|New York}}
| subdivision_type2       = [[City]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[New York City]]
| subdivision_type3       = [[Borough (New York City)|Borough]]
| subdivision_name3       = [[Brooklyn]]
| subdivision_type4       = [[Community boards of Brooklyn|Community District]]
| subdivision_name4       = [[Brooklyn Community Board 13|Brooklyn 13]]<ref name="NYCPlanning" />
| established_title       = Settled
| established_date        = 17th century
| founder                 = Dutch settlers
| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_total_km2          = 1.790
| population_footnotes    =
| population_total        = 32,259
| population_as_of        = 2020
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_demonym      =
| population_note         =
| timezone1 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset1 = −5:00
| timezone1_DST = [[Eastern Time Zone|EDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = −4:00
| postal_code_type        = [[ZIP Code]]
| postal_code             = 11224
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbering plan|Area code]]
| area_code               = [[Area codes 718, 347, and 929|718, 347, 929]], and [[Area code 917|917]]
}}

'''Coney Island''' is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the [[Boroughs of New York City|New York City borough]] of [[Brooklyn]]. The neighborhood is bounded by [[Brighton Beach]] to its east, [[Lower New York Bay]] to the south and west, and [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]] to the north and includes the subsection of [[Sea Gate, Brooklyn|Sea Gate]] on its west. More broadly, the '''Coney Island peninsula''' consists of Coney Island proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. This was formerly the westernmost of the [[Outer Barrier]] islands on the southern shore of [[Long Island]], but in the early 20th century it became connected to the rest of Long Island by [[Land reclamation|land fill]].

The origin of Coney Island's name is disputed, but the area was originally part of the colonial town of Gravesend. By the mid-19th century it had become a [[seaside resort]], and by the late 19th century, [[amusement park]]s had also been built at the location. The attractions reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th century. However, they declined in popularity after [[World War II]] and, following years of neglect, several structures were torn down. Various redevelopment projects were proposed for Coney Island in the 1970s through the 2000s, though most of these were not carried out.<ref name="Denson 2011" /> The area was revitalized with the opening of the venue now known as [[Maimonides Park]] in 2001 and several amusement rides starting in the 2010s.

Coney Island had around 32,000 residents as of the [[2020 United States census]]. The neighborhood is ethnically diverse, and the neighborhood's poverty rate of 27% is slightly higher than that of the city as a whole.

Coney Island is part of [[Brooklyn Community Board 13|Brooklyn Community District 13]], and its primary [[ZIP Code]] is 11224.<ref name="NYCPlanning">{{cite web|title=NYC Planning {{!}} Community Profiles|url=https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/brooklyn/13|website=communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|access-date=March 18, 2019}}</ref> It is patrolled by the 60th Precinct of the [[New York City Police Department]].<ref name="NYPD 60th Precinct"/> Fire services are provided by the [[New York City Fire Department]]'s Engine 245/Ladder 161/Battalion 43 and Engine 318/Ladder 166.<ref name="fdny-locs"/> Politically, Coney Island is represented by the [[New York City Council]]'s 47th District. The area is well served by the [[New York City Subway]] and local bus routes, and contains several public elementary and middle schools.

{{TOC limit|3}}

== Geography and climate ==
[[File:ConeyIslandAerial.jpg|left|thumb|Aerial view of the Coney Island neighborhood, which occupies the western end of the Coney Island peninsula]]
''[[The Encyclopedia of New York City]]'' considers the area west of Ocean Parkway (including Sea Gate and [[Nortons Point Light]]) to be part of the Coney Island neighborhood.<ref>{{cite enc-nyc2|page=299}}</ref> The neighborhood is situated on the western portion of the Coney Island [[peninsula]], located on the western end of [[Long Island]] lying to the west of the [[Outer Barrier]] islands along Long Island's southern shore. The peninsula is about {{convert|4|mi|km}} long and {{convert|0.5|mi|km}} wide. It extends into [[Lower New York Bay]] with [[Sheepshead Bay]] to its northeast, [[Gravesend Bay]] and [[Coney Island Creek]] to its northwest, and the main part of Brooklyn to its north. At its highest it is {{convert|7|feet|m}} above sea level. Coney Island was formerly an actual island, separated from greater Brooklyn by Coney Island Creek, and was the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands. A large section of the creek was filled in the 1920s and 1930s, turning the island into a peninsula.<ref name="Kadinsky2016" />{{rp|200}}

The perimeter of Coney Island features manmade structures designed to maintain its current shape. The beaches are currently not a natural feature; the sand that is naturally supposed to replenish Coney Island is cut off by the [[jetty]] at [[Breezy Point, Queens]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|title=Geology of the New York City Region|url=https://www.usgs.gov/science-support/osqi/yes/national-parks/geology-new-york-city-region/|access-date=February 15, 2021|website=usgs.gov}}</ref><ref name="NYC.gov-ResilientNY-Ch17" />{{rp|337}} Sand has been redeposited on the beaches via [[beach nourishment]] since the construction of [[Riegelmann Boardwalk]] in 1922–1923,<ref>{{cite conference|last=Dornhelm|first=Richard B.|title=Urban Beaches |chapter=The Coney Island Public Beach and Boardwalk Improvement of 1923|publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers|location=Reston, VA|date=September 25, 2003|pages=52–63 |isbn=978-0-7844-0682-3|doi=10.1061/40682(2003)6}}</ref> and is held in place by around two dozen [[groyne]]s. A large sand-replenishing project along Coney Island and Brighton Beach took place in the 1990s.<ref name="NYC.gov-ResilientNY-Ch17" />{{rp|337}} Sheepshead Bay at the peninsula's northeast corner is, for the most part, enclosed in [[Bulkhead (barrier)|bulkheads]].<ref name="NYC.gov-ResilientNY-Ch17">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sirr/downloads/pdf/Ch17_SouthernBrooklyn_FINAL_singles.pdf|title=A Stronger, More Resilient New York|chapter=Chapter 17, Southern Brooklyn|pages=335–364|publisher=[[Government of New York City|City of New York]]|date=2013|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> Two major parks, [[Kaiser Park]] and [[Coney Island Creek Park]], are located on the northwest side of the peninsula along Coney Island Creek.<ref name="NYC Parks Kaiser" /><ref name="NYC Parks CIC" /> A 2023 study found that Coney Island was sinking at a rate of about {{convert|2.6|±|0.8|mm|sp=us}} per year, making it among the fastest-sinking locations in New York City;<ref name="Delaney 2024 f435"/> this is mainly because parts of the neighborhood were created by [[land reclamation]].<ref name="Delaney 2024 f435">{{cite web | last=Delaney | first=Jillian | title=These 6 NYC locations are sinking, study says | website=silive | date=March 9, 2024 | url=https://www.silive.com/climate/2024/03/these-6-nyc-locations-are-sinking-study-says.html | access-date=March 10, 2024|postscript=none}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | last=Misdary | first=Rosemary | title=but it's not because of large buildings | website=Gothamist | date=October 3, 2023 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-is-sinking-but-it-is-not-because-of-large-buildings | access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref>

Coney Island has a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'') and the [[hardiness zone]] is 7b.<ref name=plantmaps/>

{{Weather box
| location                = Coney Island, Brooklyn
| width                   = 50%
| single line             = Y
| Jan high F              = 39
| Feb high F              = 42
| Mar high F              = 50
| Apr high F              = 60
| May high F              = 70
| Jun high F              = 79
| Jul high F              = 84
| Aug high F              = 83
| Sep high F              = 76
| Oct high F              = 65
| Nov high F              = 54
| Dec high F              = 44
| Jan record high F       = 70
| Feb record high F       = 73
| Mar record high F       = 83
| Apr record high F       = 93
| May record high F       = 98
| Jun record high F       = 99
| Jul record high F       = 105
| Aug record high F       = 101
| Sep record high F       = 98
| Oct record high F       = 91
| Nov record high F       = 80
| Dec record high F       = 75
| year record high F      = 105
| year high F             = 62
| Jan low F               = 25
| Feb low F               = 27
| Mar low F               = 34
| Apr low F               = 43
| May low F               = 53
| Jun low F               = 63
| Jul low F               = 69
| Aug low F               = 67
| Sep low F               = 60
| Oct low F               = 49
| Nov low F               = 40
| Dec low F               = 31
| Jan record low F        = −4
| Feb record low F        = −2
| Mar record low F        = 7
| Apr record low F        = 19
| May record low F        = 35
| Jun record low F        = 44
| Jul record low F        = 51
| Aug record low F        = 50
| Sep record low F        = 39
| Oct record low F        = 29
| Nov record low F        = 17
| Dec record low F        = −1
| year record low F       = −4
| year low F              = 47
| precipitation colour    = green
| Jan precipitation inch  = 3.86
| Feb precipitation inch  = 2.99
| Mar precipitation inch  = 4.07
| Apr precipitation inch  = 4.03
| May precipitation inch  = 4.40
| Jun precipitation inch  = 3.61
| Jul precipitation inch  = 4.45
| Aug precipitation inch  = 4.16
| Sep precipitation inch  = 4.12
| Oct precipitation inch  = 3.41
| Nov precipitation inch  = 3.86
| Dec precipitation inch  = 3.63
| year precipitation inch = 46.56
| Jan snow inch           = 6.7
| Feb snow inch           = 7.5
| Mar snow inch           = 3.9
| Apr snow inch           = 0.7
| May snow inch           =  0
| Jun snow inch           =  0
| Jul snow inch           =  0
| Aug snow inch           =  0
| Sep snow inch           =  0
| Oct snow inch           =  0
| Nov snow inch           =  0.3
| Dec snow inch           =  3.6
| year snow inch          = 22.7
| source 1                = <ref name=plantmaps>{{cite web|url=https://www.plantmaps.com/11224|title=Zipcode 11224|website=plantmaps.com|access-date=April 14, 2021}}</ref>
}}

== Name ==
The original [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] inhabitants of the region, the [[Lenape]], called this area {{lang|umu|Narrioch}}, possibly meaning "land without shadows"<ref name="Solomon 1999" /> or "always in light"<ref>{{cite book|via=HathiTrust|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008511115|title=Brooklyn before the bridge: American paintings from the Long Island Historical Society|publisher=Long Island Historical Society, Brooklyn Museum|year=1982|page=54|isbn=9780872730915|access-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref> in reference to its sunlit south-facing beaches. A second possible meaning is "point" or "corner of land".<ref name=Pritchard2002>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5hky9f5PgoC|last=Pritchard|first=Evan T.|author-link=:hr:Evan T. Pritchard|title=Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York|publisher=Council Oak Books|location=San Francisco|year=2002|isbn=978-1-57178-107-9|oclc=46937559}}</ref>{{rp|page=105}} The "island" was originally several smaller historical islands, each being given a name by Dutch settlers, with the westernmost [[sand spit]] or point named ''Conyne Eylandt'' in early-17th-century Dutch maps, starting with the 1639 [[Manatus Map]].<ref name="hunter">{{cite book|last1=Hunter|first1=Douglas|date=2009|title=Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage that Redrew the Map of the New World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kMykb1AbSHsC&pg=PA165|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|page=165|isbn=978-1-60819-098-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Schwartz|first1=Seymour I.|last2=Ehrenberg|first2=Ralph E.|title=The mapping of America|publisher=H.N. Abrams|year=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KCQYAQAAMAAJ|access-date=October 20, 2019|page=108|isbn=978-0-81091-307-3}}</ref>

There is no clear historical consensus on how the island got the name "Coney Island", in regular use in the first half of the 19th century with the advent of regular ferry service to the island, but several theories have been put forward.<ref name="Solomon 1999">{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Steve|title=Coney Island|publisher=Top Hat Press|location=Baltimore, MD|year=1999|isbn=978-0-912509-08-2|oclc=42191804|page=13}}</ref><ref name="Name">{{cite web|title=Coney Island|work=American Experience|publisher=PBS|date=February 4, 1991|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/historic-highlights/|access-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Henin"/>{{rp|27}} One possible etymology is from a [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribe, the Konoh or Konoi (the "Bear Band"), who once inhabited the island.<ref name="Solomon 1999" /><ref name="Name" /><ref name="Henin" />{{rp|27}} A second theory suggests that it was distortion of the name of [[Henry Hudson]]'s second mate on the ''[[Halve Maen]]'', [[John Colman]], who was slain by natives on the 1609 expedition.<ref name="Name" /><ref name="hunter" /> A third posits that late 18th century Irish captain Peter O'Connor named it after [[Coney Island, County Sligo|Coney Island in County Sligo]], Ireland, which has a rabbit population. In Irish {{lang|ga|coinín}} is the word used for a rabbit.<ref name="Name" /><ref>{{cite book|last=McGowan|first=Joe|title=Sligo Folk Tales|publisher=The History Press|publication-place=New York|year=2015|isbn=978-1-84588-836-7|oclc=920024400|page=81}}</ref> Yet other theories suggest a Dutch etymology: one theory holds that the name had come from Conyn, the surname of a family of Dutch settlers who lived there,<ref name="Name" /> and another suggests that it came from the Dutch word for [[rabbit]], {{lang|nl|konijn}}, derived from a purported large population of wild rabbits on the island".<ref name="Name"/><ref name="van der Sijs 2009">{{cite book|last=Sijs van der|first=Nicoline|author-link=Nicoline van der Sijs|date=2009|title=Cookies, Coleslaw, and Stoops: The Influence of Dutch on the North American Languages|page=51|publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-9-08964-124-3}}</ref><ref name="Dutch place names">{{cite web|url=http://international.loc.gov/intldl/awkbhtml/kb-1/kb-1-2-5.html|title=The Atlantic World: Dutch Place Names|website=The Dutch in America, 1609–1664|publisher=The Library of Congress|access-date=May 10, 2016}}</ref>

There is little evidence for each origin theory, and there are conflicts between the pieces of evidence that do exist.<ref name="Name"/> The most popular idea is the translation of the Dutch word for "rabbit" into the English word ''[[wikt:coney#English|coney]]'', but that has its detractors and counter explanations. In 1816, politician and U.S. Founding Father [[Egbert Benson]] presented a treatise on New York place names and said it was "Conyn's Island", after the Dutch surname, and noted "there are already symptoms of the beginning of a tradition that it once abounded in Rabbits".<ref name="Name"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Stimpson|first=George W.|title=Why Do Some Shoes Squeak? and 568 Other Popular Questions Answered|publisher=Wings Books|year=1992|isbn=978-0-517-45574-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhiVxAEACAAJ|page=207}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Benson|first=Egbert|author2=New-York Historical Society|title=Memoir Read Before the Historical Society of the State of New-York, December 31, 1816|publisher=Henry C. Sleight|year=1825|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY1OzvUKaDAC&pg=PA26|page=26}}</ref> Other historians claim that rabbits were introduced to the island only after it was settled.<ref name="Henin">{{cite book|last=Boyle|first=James|title=Official Brooklyn Guide Book ...|publisher=Henin|year=1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPhOAQAAMAAJ|oclc=3632212}}</ref>{{rp|27–28}} The 19th century also saw the heavily Irish New York [[Tammany Hall]] political machine controlling development of the island, and they may have gotten the name from the island in County Sligo rather than any tale of a rabbit population.<ref name="Name" />

== History ==
=== Early settlement ===
[[Giovanni da Verrazzano]] was the first European explorer to sight the island of Narrioch during his expeditions to the area in 1527 and 1529. He was subsequently followed by Henry Hudson.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|34}} [[Anthony Janszoon van Salee]] was the first New Netherland settler to acquire land adjacent to Coney Island, in 1639.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Collections : Text : Patent of Anthony Jansen for 100 morgens of land on Long Island [NYSA_A1880-78_VGG_0061]|url=https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/51158|access-date=August 2, 2021|website=digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov}}</ref> The Native American population in the area dwindled as the Dutch settlement grew and the entire southern tier of present-day Brooklyn, from [[Gowanus Creek]] to Coney Island to [[Gerritsen Creek]], was purchased in 1645 from the Native Americans in exchange for goods.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Collections : Text : Indian deed for a tract of land on Long Island [NYSA_A1880-78_VGG_0052]|url=https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/51149|access-date=July 28, 2021|website=digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov}}</ref> The goods were not recorded in the deed, but later accounts mention a gun, a blanket, and a kettle.<ref name=Pritchard2002/>{{Rp|page=106}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Douglass|first=Harvey|date=March 23, 1933|title=Coney Island Scenes Shift, Never Change|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59998009/|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|access-date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>

In 1644, a colonist named Guysbert Op Dyck was given a [[land patent]] for 88 acres of land in what became the town of [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]], on the southwestern shore of Brooklyn.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Collections : Text : Patent of Gysbert Op Dyck for the whole of Coney Island [NYSA_A1880-78_VGG_0095]|url=https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/51192|access-date=July 12, 2021|website=digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov}}</ref> The land patent included Conyne Island, an island just off the southwestern shore of the town of Gravesend, as well as Conyne Hook, a peninsula just east of the island. Both became part of Gravesend when its first town charter was granted a year later, in 1645.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|4}}<ref name="bde19360810">{{cite news|url=http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52628845/|title=Passed in Review|last=Currie|first=George|date=August 10, 1936|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=July 21, 2018|page=14|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com}}</ref> East of Conyne Hook was the largest section of island called Gysbert's, Guysbert's, or Guisbert's Island (also called Johnson Island), containing most of the arable land and extending east through today's [[Brighton Beach]] and [[Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn|Manhattan Beach]].<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|34}}<ref name="Ierardi">{{cite book|last=Ierardi|first=Eric|title=Gravesend, the home of Coney Island|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, S.C|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7385-2361-3|oclc=51632931|page=46}}</ref><ref name="heartofconeyisland1">{{cite web|url=http://www.heartofconeyisland.com/early-coney-island-history.html|title=Coney Island History – Early History|website=Heart of Coney Island}}</ref> This was officially the first official real estate transaction for the island.<ref name="bde19360810" />
Op Dyck never occupied his land, and in 1661 he sold it off to Dick De Wolf. The land's new owner banned Gravesend residents from using Guisbert's Island and built a salt-works on the land, provoking outrage among Gravesend livestock herders. New Amsterdam was transferred to the English in 1664, and four years later, the English Governor created a new charter for Gravesend that excluded Coney Island. Subsequently, Guisbert's Island was divided into plots meted out to several dozen settlers. However, in 1685, the island became part of Gravesend again as a result of a new charter with the Native Americans.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|36}}

[[File:Coney Island (Detail) Chart of the entrance of Hudson's River, from Sandy Hook to New York - with the banks, depths of water, sailing-marks, &ca (NYPL b14099970-1222740).png|thumb|center|600px|{{center|Detail of a 1776 nautical chart showing the collection of islands and shifting sand that eventually became present-day Coney Island}}]]

At the time of European settlement, the land that makes up the present-day Coney Island was divided across several separate islands. All of these islands were part of the [[outer barrier]] on the southern shore of Long Island, and their land areas and boundaries changed frequently.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|34}} Only the westernmost island was called Coney Island; it currently makes up part of [[Sea Gate, Brooklyn|Sea Gate]]. At the time, it was a 1.25-mile shifting [[Spit (landform)|sandspit]] with a detached island at its western end extending into Lower New York Bay.<ref name="hunter" /> In a 1679–1680 journal, [[Jasper Danckaerts]] and Peter Sluyter noted that "Conijnen Eylandt" was fully separated from the rest of Brooklyn. The explorers observed that "Nobody lives upon it, but it is used in winter for keeping cattle, horses, oxen, hogs and others."<ref name="hunter" /><ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|36}}

By the early 18th century, the town of Gravesend was periodically granting seven-year-long leases to freeholders, who would then have the exclusive use of Coney Hook and Coney Island. In 1734, a road to Coney Hook was laid out.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|37}} Thomas Stillwell, a prominent Gravesend resident who was the freeholder for Coney Island and Coney Hook at the time, proposed to build a ditch through Coney Hook so it would be easier for his cattle to graze. He convinced several friends in the nearby town of [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]] to help him in this effort, telling them that the creation of such a ditch would allow them to ship goods from [[Jamaica Bay]] to [[New York Harbor]] without having to venture out into the ocean.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|37}} In 1750, the "Jamaica Ditch" was dug through Coney Hook from Brown's Creek in the west to Hubbard's Creek in the east.<ref name="autogenerated34">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9YsAAAAYAAJ|title=A History of the Town of Gravesend, N.Y.|last1=Stockwell|first1=A.P.|last2=Stillwell|first2=W.H.|year=1884|access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>{{Rp|34}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/collection/filter/Jamaica-Ditch|title=Jamaica Ditch|website=Coney Island History Project|access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref> The creation of the canal turned Coney Hook into a detached {{Convert|0.5|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} island called Pine Island, so named due to the woods on it.<ref name="autogenerated34" />{{Rp|34}}

Each island was separated by an [[inlet]] that could only be crossed at low tide. By the end of the 18th century, the ongoing shifting of sand along the barrier islands had closed up the inlets to the point that residents began filling them in and joining them as one island. Development of Coney Island was slow until the 19th century due to land disputes, the [[American Revolutionary War]], and the [[War of 1812]].<ref name="heartofconeyisland1" /> Coney Island was so remote that [[Herman Melville]] wrote ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' on the island in 1849, and [[Henry Clay]] and [[Daniel Webster]] discussed the [[Missouri Compromise]] at the island the next year.<ref name="bn19570601" />

=== Resort development ===
[[File:Railroad Station, Coney Island, Brooklyn, ca. 1872-1887. (5832942813) (cropped).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Railroad station in Coney Island, Brooklyn, c. 1872–1887]]
In 1824, the Gravesend and Coney Island Road and Bridge Company built the first bridge across Jamaica Ditch (by now known as Coney Island Creek), connecting the island with the mainland. The company also built a shell road across the island to the beaches.<ref name="heartofconeyisland1" /><ref name="bde19390305">{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52755417/|title=Yellowed Pages of Coney Island Register Reveal Visits of Many Great and Near-Great of Day|date=March 5, 1939|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=July 21, 2018|page=11|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1829, the company also built the first hotel on the island: the Coney Island House, near present-day Sea Gate.<ref name="bde19390305" /><ref name="Phalen2016">{{cite book|last=Phalen|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2HCQDAAAQBAJ|title=Coney Island : 150 years of rides, fires, floods, the rich, the poor and finally Robert Moses|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2016|isbn=978-0-7864-9816-1|oclc=933438460}}</ref>{{rp|8}}<ref name="PBS">{{cite web|title=American Experience. Coney Island. People & Events|publisher=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/historic-highlights/|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref>

Due to Coney Island's proximity to [[Manhattan]] and other boroughs, and its simultaneous relative distance from the city of Brooklyn to provide the illusion of a proper vacation, it began attracting vacationers in the 1830s and 1840s, assisted by carriage roads and steamship service that reduced travel time from a formerly half-day journey to two hours.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Berman|first1=John S.|last2=Museum of the City of New York|title=Coney Island|publisher=Barnes and Noble Books|series=Portraits of America|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7607-3887-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_paj4cavDwC&pg=PA15|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref>{{rp|15}} Most of the vacationers were wealthy and went by carriage. Inventor [[Samuel Colt]] built an observation tower on the peninsula in 1845, but he abandoned the project soon after.<ref name="PBS" /> In 1847, the middle class started going to Coney Island upon the introduction of a ferry line to Norton's Point—named during the mid-1870s after hotel owner [[Michael Norton (New York state senator)|Michael Norton]]—at the western portion of the peninsula. Gang activity started as well, with one 1870s writer noting that going to Coney Island could result in losing money and even lives.<ref name="PBS" /> The [[Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad]] became the first railroad to reach Coney Island when it opened in 1864,<ref>{{cite news|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|location=[[Brooklyn]], NY|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50404324|title=Travel|date=June 9, 1864|page=1}}<br>{{cite news|work=[[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]]|location=[[Brooklyn]], NY|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50404348|title=Another New Rail Road|date=June 9, 1864|page=2}}</ref><ref name="Our Brooklyn 1936" /> and it was completed in 1867.<ref name="Cudahy 2009" />{{rp|71}} Over the next 13 years, four more railroads were built specifically to transport visitors to Coney Island; this was part of a larger national trend toward [[trolley park]] development.<ref name="Cross Walton 2005" />{{rp|14}}

In 1868, William A. Engeman built a resort in the area.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /> The resort was given the name "[[Brighton Beach]]" in 1878 by [[Henry C. Murphy]] and a group of businessmen, who chose the name as an allusion to the English resort city of [[Brighton]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Weinstein, Stephen|editor1=Jackson, Kenneth T.|editor2=Keller, Lisa|editor3=Flood, Nancy|editor-link=Kenneth T. Jackson|edition=2nd|date=2000|chapter=Brighton Beach|title=The Encyclopedia of New York City|isbn=0-300-11465-6|location=New York, NY, and New Haven, CT, US|publisher=The New York Historical Society and Yale University Press|pages=139–140|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0300182570|access-date=November 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Our Brooklyn 1936">{{cite web|title=Brighton Beach History|website=Our Brooklyn|publisher=[[Brooklyn Public Library]]|date=August 30, 1936|url=http://www.bklynlibrary.org/ourbrooklyn/brightonbeach/|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015009/http://www.bklynlibrary.org/ourbrooklyn/brightonbeach/|archive-date=November 17, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> With the help of Gravesend's surveyor [[William Stillwell]], Engeman acquired all 39 lots for the relatively low cost of $20,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Real Brighton Beach|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 29, 2010|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/03/29/the-real-brighton-beach|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Phalen2016" />{{rp|38}} This {{convert|460|by|210|ft|m|adj=on}} hotel, with rooms for up to 5,000 people nightly and meals for up to 20,000 people daily, was close to the then-rundown western Coney Island, so it was mostly the upper middle class that went to this hotel.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Keith|title=Brighton Beach: Old World mentality, New World reality|url=http://theweeklynabe.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/brighton-beach-brooklyn-history/|journal=The Weekly Nabe|access-date=July 29, 2012}}</ref> The {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=on}}, double-decker Brighton Beach Bathing Pavilion was also built nearby and opened in 1878, with the capacity for 1,200 bathers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Engeman's New Bathing Hotel|date=July 1, 1878|page=1|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|url=http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50423388/|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Phalen2016" />{{rp|38}}<ref name="Our Brooklyn 1936" /> Hotel Brighton, also known as the Brighton Beach Hotel, was situated on the beach at what is now the foot of [[Coney Island Avenue]].<ref name="Coney Island Hotels">{{cite web|last=Stanton|first=Jeffrey|year=1997|title=Coney Island&nbsp;— Luxury Hotels|publisher=Coney Island History Site|url=http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/luxuryhotels.htm|access-date=November 12, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|248}} The [[Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway]], the predecessor to the [[New York City Subway]]'s present-day [[BMT Brighton Line|Brighton Line]], opened on July 2, 1878, and provided access to the hotel.<ref name="NYCS 2001">{{cite web|last=Feinman|first=Mark S.|title=Early Rapid Transit in Brooklyn, 1878–1913|publisher=nycsubway.org|date=February 17, 2001|url=http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Early_Rapid_Transit_in_Brooklyn,_1878-1913|access-date=November 12, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Phalen2016" />{{rp|38}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Another Coney Island Railroad – Opening of the Brooklyn and Flatbush Line to Brighton Beach|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 2, 1878|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1878/07/02/archives/another-coney-island-railroad-opening-of-the-brooklyn-and-flatbush.html|access-date=March 30, 2018}}</ref>

Simultaneously, wealthy banker [[Austin Corbin]] was developing adjacent [[Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn|Manhattan Beach]] after being interested in the area during a trip to the beach to heal his sick son.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /><ref name="Features 2013">{{cite web|title=The Upper-Class Brooklyn Resorts of the Victorian Era|website=Curbed NY|date=June 27, 2013|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/06/27/the_upperclass_brooklyn_resorts_of_the_victorian_era.php|access-date=November 12, 2015}}</ref> Corbin, who worked on [[Wall Street]] and had many [[railroad]] investments, built the [[New York and Manhattan Beach Railway]] for his two luxury shoreline hotels. These hotels were used by the wealthy upper class, who would not go to Brighton Beach because of its proximity to Coney Island.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /> The 150-room Manhattan Beach Hotel—which was designed by [[J. Pickering Putnam]] and contained restaurants, ballrooms, and shops—was opened for business in July 1877 at a ceremony presided over by President [[Ulysses S. Grant]].<ref name="Features 2013" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Wilderness Made Prosperous By One Man's Vision and Daring|date=July 11, 1954|page=7|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/54414817/|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> The similarly prodigal Oriental Hotel, which hosted rooms for wealthy families staying for extended periods, was opened in August 1880.<ref name="Features 2013" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Opening Reception at the Oriental Hotel|date=August 3, 1880|page=3|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50504406/|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>

[[Andrew R. Culver]], president of the [[Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary 1 – No Title|date=July 13, 1906|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/07/13/archives/obituary-1-no-title.html|access-date=November 3, 2020}}</ref> had built the [[Culver Line (surface)|Culver Line]] steam railway to West Brighton in 1875,<ref name="NY1900">{{cite New York 1900}}</ref>{{rp|248}} before Corbin and Engeman had even built their railroads. For 35 cents, one could ride the Prospect Park & Coney Island Railroad to the [[Culver Depot]] terminal at Surf Avenue.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /> Across the street from the terminal, the {{convert|300|ft|m|adj=on}} Iron Tower (also known as the Centennial Observatory), bought from the [[1876 Philadelphia Exposition]], provided patrons with a bird's-eye view of the coast. The nearby "Camera Obscura" similarly used mirrors and lens to provide a panoramic view of the area.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /><ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|22–23}} Coney Island became a major resort destination after the Civil War as excursion [[rail transport|railroads]] and the [[Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad]] [[streetcar line]] reached the area in the 1860s and 1870s, followed by the [[Iron Steamboat Company]] ferry to Manhattan in 1881.<ref name="Phalen2016" />{{rp|29}}<ref name="Cudahy 2009">{{cite book|last=Cudahy|first=Brian J.|title=How We Got to Coney Island: The Development of Mass Transportation in Brooklyn and Kings County|publisher=Fordham University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8232-2211-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtUzg07N0wwC|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>{{rp|64}}

The 150-suite Cable Hotel was built nearby in 1875.<ref name="NYCS 2001" /> Next to it, on a {{convert|12|acre|ha|adj=on}} piece of land leased by James Voorhies, [[maitre d']] Paul Bauer built the western peninsula's largest hotel, which opened in 1876.<ref name="Coney Island Hotels" /> By the turn of the century, Victorian hotels, private bathhouses, and [[vaudeville]] theaters were a common sight on Coney Island.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012">{{cite book|author1=Judith N. DeSena|author2=Timothy Shortell|title=The World in Brooklyn: Gentrification, Immigration, and Ethnic Politics in a Global City|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-YNs4ih1FUC|year=2012|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-6670-3|pages=147–176}}</ref>{{rp|147}} The three resort areas—Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and West Brighton—competed with each other for clientele. By the early 1900s, West Brighton had gradually become the most popular destination, and as such, became associated with the lively amusement area of Coney Island.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=November 19, 2016|publisher=heartofconeyisland.com|url=http://www.heartofconeyisland.com/west-brighton-coney-island-history.html|title=Coney Island History: How 'West Brighton' became Modern-day Coney Island|author=David A. Sullivan|ref=none}}</ref><ref name="Cross Walton 2005" />{{rp|14–15}}

In the 1890s, Norton's Point on the western side of Coney Island was developed into [[Sea Gate, Brooklyn|Sea Gate]], a [[gated community|gated]] summer community that catered mainly to the wealthy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50387044/|title=Sea Gate and Sheepshead|date=August 6, 1899|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=July 21, 2018|page=16|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Quest for Rural Homes – Toilers of Greater New York to Gain by Long Island Rapid Transit – Twenty Minutes to Jamaica – Pretty Suburban Villas Springing Up in Anticipation of the Proposed Atlantic Avenue Tunnel – Grass and Air for All|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 16, 1897|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/05/16/archives/quest-for-rural-homes-toilers-of-greater-new-york-to-gain-by-long.html|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> A private yacht carried visitors directly from [[the Battery (Manhattan)|the Battery]] at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Notable tenants within the community included the [[Atlantic Yacht Club]], which built a [[colonial style]] house along the waterfront.<ref>{{cite news|author=J.B.T.|title=Sea Gate|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 14, 1898|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/08/14/archives/sea-gate.html|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>

=== Amusement park era ===
[[File:Main Lagoon at Foot of Chutes, Luna Park, Coney Island, NY.jpg|thumb|One of the large parks, Luna Park, Main Lagoon, 1907]]
Between about 1880 and [[World War II]], Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States, attracting several million visitors per year. Its development as an amusement area was concurrent with the erection of urban amusement parks elsewhere in the United States, which changed amusement from a passive to an active concept.<ref name="Kasson 2011">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRC1mjAzFXsC|title=Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century|last=Kasson|first=J.F.|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4299-5223-1}}</ref>{{Rp|7, 8}} Of these amusement areas, Coney Island was the largest. At its height, it contained three competing major amusement parks—[[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]], [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland]], and [[Steeplechase Park]]—as well as many independent amusements.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|147–150}}<ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|11}}<ref name="Kasson 2011" />{{Rp|4}} The area was also the center of new technological events and innovations including electric lights, roller coasters, and [[baby incubator]]s.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|147}} By the first decade of the 20th century, Coney Island was seen as a top getaway and "a symbol of Americans' increasing pride".<ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|21–22}}

==== 19th century ====
[[File:The first carousel and amusement ride at Coney Island was hand-carved and built by Danish carver, Charles I. D. Looff and installed at Mrs. Lucy Vanderveer's Bathing Pavilion in 1876.jpg|thumb|left|First Coney Island Charles Looff carousel]]

By the late 1870s, Coney Island's hotels had drawn people from many different social classes, and attractions were being built.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|30}} When the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit]] Company electrified the steam railroads and connected Brooklyn to [[Manhattan]] via the [[Brooklyn Bridge]] at the beginning of the 20th century, Coney Island turned rapidly from a resort to an accessible location for day-trippers seeking to escape the summer heat in New York City's [[apartment building|tenements]].<ref name="NYCS 2001" /><ref name="Matus, Paul">{{cite web|author=Matus, Paul|work=The Third Rail Online|title=The New BMT Coney Island Terminal|url=http://thethirdrail.net/0305/stillwell4.html|access-date=August 29, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235717/http://thethirdrail.net/0305/stillwell4.html|archive-date=September 26, 2007}}</ref> [[Charles I. D. Looff]], a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[wood carving|woodcarver]], built the first carousel and amusement ride at Coney Island in 1876, at Lucy Vandeveer's bath-house complex at West 6th Street and Surf Avenue. Looff personally hand-carved the designs into the carousel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coney – Carousel List|website=Westland Network|date=August 27, 1997|url=http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/carousellist.htm|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref> Looff subsequently commissioned another carousel at Feltman's Ocean Pavilion in 1880.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|88}} Another early attraction was the Seaside Aquarium, which operated from 1877 to 1887 and included aquatic exhibits, aviaries, zoo attractions, and various sideshows.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|31}}<ref name="Cross Walton 2005">{{cite book|last1=Cross|first1=G.|last2=Walton|first2=J.K.|title=The Playful Crowd: Pleasure Places in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-231-50283-2|url=https://archive.org/details/playfulcrowdplea0000cros|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/playfulcrowdplea0000cros/page/15 15]|access-date=October 21, 2019}}</ref>{{rp|15}} The earliest rides, including Looff's first carousel and the Seaside Aquarium, were located at the Centennial Observatory's site.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|32}} The first sideshows and fireworks displays came to Coney Island in 1883, and combined with constant musical performances, brought increased excitement to the area.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|34–37}}

The very first [[roller coaster]] at Coney Island was the [[Switchback Railway]], a gravity coaster installed by [[LaMarcus Adna Thompson]] at West 10th Street in 1884. Nearby was the [[Elephantine Colossus]], a seven-story building (including a [[brothel]]) in the shape of an elephant, which opened the following year.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|38–39}} Until its demolition in 1896, the elephant was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving in New York, who would see it before they saw the [[Statue of Liberty]].<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|40–42}}<ref>{{cite web|access-date=November 19, 2016|work=heartofconeyisland.com|url=http://www.heartofconeyisland.com/elephant-hotel-coney-island-history.html|title=Coney Island History: The Elephant Hotel and Roller Coaster (1885–1896)|author=David A. Sullivan|ref=none}}</ref> Next to be developed were horse-racing tracks, and by 1890, Coney Island had three tracks: [[Sheepshead Bay Race Track]], [[Brighton Beach Race Course]], and [[Gravesend Race Track]].<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|46}}<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|248}} [[Julian Ralph]] described Coney Island in 1896 as "the first made-to-order resort in America", with many businesses having "leaped from nothing into full fledged perfection".<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|248}} However, crime and corruption in Coney Island were prevalent. The main leader of this corruption was John Y. McKane, who ran prizefighting rings behind the elephant until he was arrested and sentenced in 1894.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|48–51}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2012/03/01/on-this-day-in-history-march-1-brooklyns-answer-to-boss-tweed/|title=On This Day in History, March 1: Brooklyn's Answer to Boss Tweed|date=February 1, 2012|website=Brooklyn Eagle|access-date=July 14, 2019}}</ref>

The development of amusement rides in Coney Island intensified in the 1890s with the opening of amusement parks. The first such park was [[Sea Lion Park]], which operated from 1895 to 1902 and was the first amusement park to charge entry fees. Sea Lion Park's opening spurred the construction of [[George C. Tilyou]]'s [[Steeplechase Park]], which opened in 1897.<ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|12}}<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|249}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Remembering Parks Past|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 7, 1989|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/07/arts/remembering-parks-past.html|access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> The Coney Island "Funny Face" logo, which is still extant, dates to the early days of Steeplechase Park.<ref>{{cite web|title="The Face of Steeplechase" at the Coney Island History Project|website=Brooklyn Paper|date=May 30, 2014|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/37/22/24-steeplechase-face-2014-05-30-bk_37_22.html|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:1879 Coney Island.jpg|thumb|center|800px|{{center|Map of Coney Island in 1879}}]]

==== Early 20th century ====
[[File:Dreamland Park at Coney Island, c. 1905.jpg|thumb|Dreamland, one of the three large parks, c. 1905]]
[[File:Potthast-coney-island.jpg|thumb|''Coney Island'', c. 1914, by [[Edward Henry Potthast]]]]

The first decade of the 20th century saw two more large amusement parks. [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]] opened in 1903 on the site of Sea Lion Park, which had closed the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Luna Park First Night – Coney Island Visitors Dazzled by Electric City – Many Colored Illuminations and Canals – A Midway of Nations and a Trip to the Moon Replace the Old-Time Recreations|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 17, 1903|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/05/17/archives/luna-park-first-night-coney-island-visitors-dazzled-by-electric.html|access-date=October 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|249}}<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|60–61}} The park contained a variety of attractions and exotic landscaping, lit by electricity at night;<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|249–250}} its flagship ride was [[A Trip to the Moon (attraction)|A Trip to the Moon]], an attraction based on [[Jules Verne]]'s novel ''[[From the Earth to the Moon]]''.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|62}} The following year saw the opening of [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland]], which reproduced many attractions at Luna Park, but at a grander scale, with a large central tower and lagoon, a sunken plaza, and one million electric lights.<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|250}}<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|68–69}}<ref>{{cite news|date=May 15, 1904|title=New Coney Dazzles Its Record Multitude – Luna Park and Dreamland the Centres of Great Crush – 250,000 Persons at Island – Novel and Costly Shows, with the Frankfurter and Peanut as Reminders of By-Gone Days|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/05/15/archives/new-coney-dazzles-its-record-multitude-luna-park-and-dreamland-the.html|access-date=October 21, 2019}}</ref> Additionally, the City of New York made efforts to condemn all buildings and piers built south of Surf Avenue in an effort to reclaim the beach and create a boardwalk, though the local amusement community opposed the move.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coney Island Boardwalk – Much Opposition to the Bill for a Public Recreation Ground|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 27, 1901|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/27/archives/coney-island-boardwalk-much-opposition-to-the-bill-for-a-public.html|access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref> Eventually, the city government and the community reached an agreement mandating that the beach did not begin until {{convert|1000|ft|m}} south of Surf Avenue and that the territory would be marked by a city-owned boardwalk. In return, the city would demolish any structures built upon public streets to reclaim beach access.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coney Island Realty Settlement|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 24, 1904|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/07/24/archives/coney-island-realty-settlement.html|access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>

The original resorts lost patronage after horse racing in New York state was outlawed in 1909, but the amusement areas still saw significant patronage.<ref name="NY1900"/>{{rp|249}} In 1915, the [[BMT Sea Beach Line|Sea Beach Line]] was upgraded to a [[rapid transit|subway]] line, followed by the other former excursion roads, and the opening of the [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway)|Stillwell Avenue]] station in 1919 ushered in Coney Island's busiest era.<ref name="NYCS 2001" /><ref name="Matus, Paul" /> On the busiest summer days, over a million people would travel to Coney Island. This created tensions between longtime New York City residents and more recent immigrants who liked to patronize Coney Island.<ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|23}} One of the entrepreneurs who took advantage of the increased visitor counts was [[Nathan Handwerker]], who in 1916 started selling hot dogs at Coney Island for a nickel each, and eventually expanded his enterprise into the [[Nathan's Famous]] hot dog chain.<ref name="bn19570601" /><ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|22–23}}
[[File:New York - Coney Island - NARA - 68145925.jpg|thumb|Coney Island in 1920]]
Coney Island's development as an amusement area continued through the end of World War II. The opening of the [[Wonder Wheel]] in 1920; the [[Riegelmann Boardwalk]] in 1923; the [[Shore Theater]] in 1925; several roller coasters in the 1920s including the [[Tornado (Coney Island)|Tornado]], [[Thunderbolt (1925 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]], and [[Coney Island Cyclone]]; and the [[Parachute Jump]] in 1941 contributed to the area's quality as an amusement destination. In particular, the Riegelmann Boardwalk enabled the crowds to be dispersed away from Surf Avenue, the main west–east avenue in the area.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|147}}<ref name="Parascandola 2014">{{cite book|last=Parascandola|first=L.J.|title=A Coney Island Reader: Through Dizzy Gates of Illusion|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-231-53819-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDMzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|access-date=January 20, 2019|page=24}}</ref>{{rp|23–24}} Despite staff shortages during World War II, Coney Island retained its popularity and was frequented by [[military personnel]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/06/27/archives/coney-has-a-war-boom-there-are-priorities-shortages-and-the-dimout.html|title=Coney Has a War Boom; There Are Priorities, Shortages and the Dimout, but the Subway Is Convenient|last=Lindheim|first=Burton|date=June 27, 1943|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 18, 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Steeplechase Park Coney Island.jpg|thumb|Steeplechase Park, 1905]]
The era was also marked by frequent fires, and those at the beginning of the 20th century were particularly destructive.<ref name="nyt19320714">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/14/archives/early-coney-fires-razed-large-areas-dreamland-was-burned-in-1911.html|title=Early Coney Fires Razed Large Areas – Dreamland Was Burned in 1911 with Damage Estimated at More Than $5,000,000 – Steeplechase Fire in 1907 – Loss Kept Down to $1,500,000 When Wind Shifted – In 1908 Flames Destroyed Two Hotels|date=July 14, 1932|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref><ref name="esg19320714">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33793308/|title=$3,000,000 Fire Sweeps Over Coney Island|date=July 14, 1932|work=Elmira Star-Gazette|access-date=July 12, 2019|page=1|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> A 1907 fire at Steeplechase Park<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/07/29/archives/coney-swept-by-1500000-fire-steeplechase-park-and-blocks-of-flimsy.html|title=Coney Swept by $1,500,000 Fire – Steeplechase Park and Blocks of Flimsy Bowery Buildings in Ruins – Starts in Cave of Winds – Eats Over 35 Acres of Wooden Structures – Checked at Stauch's Brick Hotel – One May Die; Dozen Hurt – Many Uninsured Business Men Ruined – Tilyou, Chief Loser, Takes It Bravely – Coney's Gayety Is Unchecked|date=July 29, 1907|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Investigating Fire at Coney; No More Tinsel Buildings|date=July 29, 1907|work=Brooklyn Citizen|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33760417/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33760426/ 10]|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> resulted in the park having to be completely rebuilt.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/05/16/archives/the-lambs-gambol-brooklyn-amusements-greater-dreamland-opening.html|title=The Lambs' Gambol – Brooklyn Amusements – Greater Dreamland, Opening Steeplechase Park|date=May 16, 1909|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref> Dreamland burned down in 1911<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/06/04/archives/rang-two-nines-for-dreamland-fire-first-time-the-call-ever-was.html|title=Rang 'Two Nines' for Dreamland Fire – First Time the Call Ever Was Sounded for a Fire in Brooklyn Borough – What the Signal Means – Called Out 33 Companies and 250 Men – Longest Run Was More Than Nine Miles – Great Race to the Sea|date=June 4, 1911|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref> and was never rebuilt.<ref name="nyt19320714" /> One of the largest conflagrations at Coney Island, which occurred in 1932,<ref name="nyt19320714" /><ref name="esg19320714" /> left at least a thousand people homeless.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/07/14/archives/1000-are-made-homeless-one-of-resorts-worst-fires-razes-section-of.html|title=1,000 Are Made Homeless – One of Resort's Worst Fires Razes Section of Boardwalk – Blaze Starts in Rubbish – Burns District Between 21st and 24th Streets – Shift in 40-Mile Wind Saves Large Area – Flames Visible for Miles – 500 Receive First-Aid – Police Rush Help to the Destitute – Manhattan Sends Apparatus|date=July 14, 1932|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref>

The early 20th century additionally saw the infilling of a portion of the {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[Coney Island Creek]], thereby connecting Coney Island to the rest of Brooklyn. In the previous decades, there had been plans to dredge and straighten the creek as a [[ship canal]], which were later abandoned. By 1924, local landowners and the city had filled a portion of the creek.<ref name="NYC.gov-ResilientNY-Ch17" />{{rp|337}}<ref name="Kadinsky2016">{{cite Hidden Waters NYC}}</ref>{{rp|200}} A major section of the creek was further filled in to allow construction of the [[Belt Parkway]] in the 1930s, and the western and eastern ends of the island became peninsulas.<ref name="Kadinsky2016" />{{rp|200}} More fill was added in 1962 during the construction of the [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lamb|first=Jonah Owen|date=August 6, 2006|title=The Ghost Ships of Coney Island Creek (Published 2006)|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/06grav.html|access-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref>

=== Residential development and decline ===
==== Robert Moses era ====
[[File:Coney Island (ca. 1940s).ogv|thumb|thumbtime=44|alt=Coney Island, circa 1940|Coney Island, c. 1940]]
[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Coney Island Bathers - Irving Underhill.jpg|thumb|Bathers in Coney Island, by Irving Underhill, in the [[Brooklyn Museum]] collection]]

In 1937, New York City parks commissioner [[Robert Moses]] published a report about the possible redevelopment of Coney Island, which would have entailed the addition of parking lots and reconstruction of part of the boardwalk.<ref>{{cite book|title=Improvement of Coney Island, Rockaway and South Beaches|last=Moses|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Moses|via=Internet Archive|date=1937|url=https://archive.org/stream/improvementofcon00newy/improvementofcon00newy_djvu.txt|access-date=July 26, 2018}}</ref> The city purchased a {{convert|400|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} strip of land along the shoreline, which would allow the boardwalk to be moved {{convert|300|ft|m}} inland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mayor Ready to Remodel Coney, Asks Moses for Revised Plan; Indicates He Favors Reconstruction of Resort on Broader Scale Than 1937 Proposal – Says Demand for Recreation Has Changed Mayor for Broad Plan Mayor's Letter to Moses Held Up by Lack of Funds|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 25, 1939|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/06/25/archives/mayor-ready-to-remodel-coney-asks-moses-for-revised-plan-indicates.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref> At this point, Coney Island was so crowded on summer weekends that, according to Moses, a coffin would provide more space per person.<ref name="bn19570601">{{cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252024%2FBuffalo%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%2FBuffalo%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201957%2FBuffalo%2520NY%2520Evening%2520News%25201957%2520-%25203502.pdf|title=Coney Isle Fishing for Way to Regain Its Lost Glamour|first=Edith Kermit|last=Roosevelt|work=[[Buffalo Evening News]]|date=June 1, 1957|access-date=July 26, 2018|via=fultonhistory.com}}</ref> Though ride construction was delayed due to material shortages caused by the onset of [[World War II]], two new rides were constructed in 1946 at the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/05/05/archives/face-lifted-coney-awaits-old-gang-amusement-owners-put-paint-on-the.html|title=Face Lifted, Coney Awaits Old Gang – Amusement Owners Put Paint on the Rides and Trot Out a Few New Super-Thrillers|date=May 5, 1946|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref>

In August 1944, [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]] was destroyed by a fire.<ref>{{cite news|title=Half of Luna Park Destroyed by Fire as 750,000 Watch – Flames Sweep Over 8-Acre Area and Cause $500,000 Loss in 1 1/2-Hour Battle|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 13, 1944|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/08/13/archives/half-of-luna-park-destroyed-by-fire-as-750000-watch-flames-sweep.html|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> Two years later, it was closed permanently and sold to a company who wanted to tear down the park's remnants and build [[Quonset hut]]s for military veterans and their families.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coney's Old Luna Park Will Yield To New Homes for 625 GI Families – Luna Park to Bow to Homes for GI's|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 18, 1946|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/08/18/archives/coneys-oid-luna-park-will-yield-to-new-homes-for-625-gi-families.html|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> Moses asked the city to transfer Luna Park's land along the Coney Island waterfront to the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|Parks Department]], a request that was granted in 1949.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Parking Lots Planned by Moses – 25-Cent Fee Would Be Charged for Facilities at Coney Island and Rockaway Beach|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 18, 1949|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/08/18/archives/new-parking-lots-planned-by-moses-25cent-fee-would-be-charged-for.html|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> Moses then had the land rezoned for residential use, with plans to demolish "about a third" of attractions along Surf Avenue, one block north of the beach, and replace these with housing.<ref name="nyt19491006" /> Moses moved the boardwalk back from the beach several yards, demolishing many structures, including the city's municipal bath house, as well as several blocks of amusements.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|149}} He claimed that fewer amusement-seekers were going to Coney Island every year, because they preferred places where they could bathe outdoors, such as [[Jones Beach State Park]] on Long Island, rather than the "mechanical gadget" attractions of Coney Island.<ref name="nyt19491006">{{cite news|title=Public Seen Tiring of Coney Gimmicks – Moses Says People Are Turning to Places Like Jones Beach as Against 'Gadget' Resorts – Long Beach 'A Warning' – Commissioner Advises Jersey Group Not to Commercialize Sandy Hook Project|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 6, 1949|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/10/06/archives/public-seen-tiring-of-coney-gimmicks-moses-says-people-are-turning.html|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> Moses also announced that the Steeplechase Pier would be closed for a year so it could be renovated.<ref>{{cite news|title=Steeplechase Pier Plan – Closing in Summer Slated for $190,000 Rebuilding|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 7, 1949|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/04/07/archives/steeplechase-pier-plan-closing-in-summer-slated-for-190000.html|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref>

In 1953, Moses proposed that most of the peninsula be rezoned for various uses, claiming that it would be an "upgrade" over the various business and unrestricted zones that existed at the time. Steeplechase Park would be allowed to remain open, but much of the shorefront amusements and concessions would be replaced by residential developments.<ref>{{cite news|title=Moses Asks Coney Island Rezoning To 'Upgrade' It as Residential Area – Rezoning Sought for Coney Island|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 2, 1953|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/04/02/archives/moses-asks-coney-island-rezoning-to-upgrade-it-as-residential-area.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref><ref name="bde19541024" /> After many complaints from the public and from concession operators, the Estimate Board reinstated the area between West 22nd and West Eighth Streets as an amusement-only zone, with the zone extending {{convert|200|to|400|ft|m}} inland from the shoreline.<ref>{{cite news|title=Amusement Area in Coney Exempt – Estimate Board Votes Exclusion From Rezoning of a Section North of the Boardwalk|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 1953|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/06/12/archives/amusement-area-in-coney-exempt-estimate-board-votes-exclusion-from.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=That Hot Dog Flavor To Remain at Coney|first=Clarence|last=Greenbaum|page=1|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com|date=June 12, 1953|url=http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53706179/|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref> Moses's subsequent proposal to extend the Coney Island boardwalk east to Manhattan Beach was denied in 1955.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coney Extension Denied to Moses – Estimate Board Rejects His Plan to Join Boardwalk with Manhattan Beach – Residents Protest It – Their Willingness to Pay for Restoring Own Esplanade Spurs Unanimous Vote|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 23, 1955|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/09/23/archives/coney-extension-denied-to-moses-estimate-board-rejects-his-plan-to.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref> A proposal to make the Quonset hut development into a permanent housing structure was also rejected.<ref>{{cite news|title=Planners Oppose Housing at Beach – Reject Proposal for Municipal Operation of Ex-G. I. Units – Ask Quick Shift to Park – Weigh Rezoning for TV – N.B.C. Ties Favorable Vote on Flatbush Studio to Location of Its Color Operations|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 28, 1953|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/05/28/archives/planners-oppose-housing-at-beach-reject-proposal-for-municipal.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>

A new building for the [[New York Aquarium]] was approved for construction in the neighborhood in 1953.<ref>{{Cite Power Broker}}</ref>{{rp|687}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Plan of Aquarium at Coney Island Approved – Estimate Board Appropriates $450,000 for First Stage – Work Starts in Spring|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 23, 1953|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/10/23/archives/plan-of-aquarium-at-coney-approved-estimate-board-appropriates.html|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref> Construction started on the aquarium in 1954.<ref name="bde19541024">{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/54529888/|title=Break Ground for World's Greatest Aquarium at Coney Island|first=Al|last=Salerno|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=October 24, 1954|pages=1, 21|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com}}</ref> The development of the new New York Aquarium was expected to revitalize Coney Island.<ref name="Billboard-19550129" /><ref name="bde19541024" /> By 1955, the area still included four children's amusement areas, five roller coasters, several [[flat ride|flat]] and [[dark ride]]s, and various other attractions such as the Wonder Wheel.<ref name="Billboard-19550129">{{cite magazine|title=Coney Girds for '55; Aquarium Progressing|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63|date=January 29, 1955|access-date=July 22, 2018|page=63}}</ref> The New York Aquarium's new site opened in June 1957.<ref name="NYParks-Aquarium-History">{{cite web|title=History of the New York Aquarium|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|date=May 31, 1934|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/zoos/ny-aquarium|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref> At this point, there were still several dozen rides in Coney Island.<ref name="bn19570601" />

==== Fred Trump era ====
During the summers of 1964 and 1965, there was a large decrease in the number of visitors to Coney Island because of the [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964/1965 World's Fair]] at [[Flushing Meadows–Corona Park]] in Queens.<ref name="nyt19660413" /> Crime increases, insufficient parking facilities, bad weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom were also cited as contributing factors in the visitor decrease. During the summer of 1964, concessionaires saw their lowest profits in a quarter-century. Ride operators reported that they had 30% to 90% fewer visitors in 1964 compared to the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coney Island Slump Grows Worse; Decline in Business Since the War Years Has Been Steady|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 2, 1964|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/02/archives/coney-island-slump-grows-worse-decline-in-business-since-the-war.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref>

A small amusement park called [[Astroland]] was announced for the boardwalk in 1962, to open the following year.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 13, 1962|title=High Tower in Park to Rise at Coney|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/13/archives/high-tower-in-park-to-rise-at-coney.html|access-date=October 6, 2020}}</ref> Steeplechase Park, the last remaining large amusement park in Coney Island, closed permanently after the 1964 season.<ref name="nyt20050721">{{cite news|last=Chan|first=Sewell|ref=none|title=Leaps of Imagination for the Parachute Jump|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 21, 2005|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/21/arts/design/leaps-of-imagination-for-the-parachute-jump.html|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|172}} The surrounding blocks were filled with amusement rides and concessions that were closed or about to close.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|172}} The rides at Steeplechase Park were auctioned off, and the property was sold to developer [[Fred Trump]], who in 1965 announced that he wanted to build luxury apartments on the old Steeplechase property.<ref>{{cite news|title=Steeplechase Park Planned as the Site of Housing Project|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 1, 1965|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/07/01/archives/steeplechase-park-planned-as-the-site-of-housing-project.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> At the time, residential developments in Coney Island in general were being built at a rapid rate. The peninsula, which had 34,000 residents in 1961, was expected to have more than double that number by the end of 1964. Many of the new residents moved into middle-income [[co-operative housing]] developments such as [[Trump Village]], [[Warbasse Houses]], and [[Luna Park Apartments]]; these replaced what ''The New York Times'' described as "a rundown sprawl of rickety houses".<ref>{{cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Michael T.|title=Housing and Amusements Give Coney Island a Dual Place in the Sun|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 19, 1964|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/19/housing-and-amusements-give-coney-island-a-dual-place-in-the-sun.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> Developers were spending millions of dollars on new housing developments, and by 1966, the peninsula housed almost 100,000 people.<ref name="nyt19660413">{{cite news|last=Phillips|first=McCandlish|title=Return of Coney Island; Amusement Area, Badly Hurt Last Year, Is Attempting to Win Back Customers|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 13, 1966|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/13/archives/return-of-coney-island-amusement-area-badly-hurt-last-year-is.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref>

During 1966, developers tried to revitalize the Coney Island boardwalk as an amusement area.<ref name="nyt19660413" /> Trump destroyed Steeplechase Park's Pavilion of Fun during a highly publicized ceremony that September.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|172}}<ref>{{cite news|title=6 Bikinied Beauties Attend Demolishing of Coney Landmark|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 22, 1966|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/09/22/archives/6-bikinied-beauties-attend-demolishing-of-coney-landmark.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> In its stead, Trump proposed building a {{convert|160|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} enclosed dome with recreational facilities and a convention center, a plan supported by Brooklyn borough president [[Abe Stark]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A 160-Foot-High Pleasure Dome Is Proposed for Coney Island; A Dome Proposed for Coney Island|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 24, 1966|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/07/24/archives/a-160foothigh-pleasure-dome-is-proposed-for-coney-island-a-dome.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> The next month, the city announced its plans to acquire the {{convert|125|acre|ha}} of the former Steeplechase Park,<ref>{{cite news|last=Fowle|first=Farnsworth|title=City Wants Site of Steeplechase for Seafront Coney Island Park; Planning Board Sets Oct. 19 Hearing to Bar Area for High-Rise Homes|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 5, 1966|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/05/archives/city-wants-site-of-steeplechase-for-seafront-coney-island-park.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> a move that many residents supported but that Trump considered to be "wasteful".<ref>{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Steven V.|title=A Park Is Backed for Coney Island – Developer Who Bought Site Calls Plan Wasteful|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 20, 1966|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/20/archives/a-park-is-backed-for-coney-island-developer-who-bought-site-calls.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> In January 1968, New York City parks commissioner [[August Heckscher II]] proposed that the New York state government build an "open-space" state park on the Steeplechase site,<ref>{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Alfred E.|title=State Is Urged to Build a Park At Coney Island's Steeplechase|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 6, 1968|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/01/06/archives/state-is-urged-to-build-a-park-at-coney-islands-steeplechase.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> and that May, the [[New York City Board of Estimate]] voted in favor of funding to buy the land from Trump.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Charles G.|title=Park Usage Voted for Steeplechase – City to Seek $2-Million Aid to Buy Coney Island Tract|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 23, 1968|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/05/23/archives/park-usage-voted-for-steeplechase-city-to-seek-2million-aid-to-buy.html|access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="jn19900902">{{cite news|title=Coney Island stages a comeback|last=Glave|first=Judie|date=September 2, 1990|work=The Journal-News|location=White Plains, NY|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34116222/ 68], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34116227/ 69], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34116234/ 70]|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Condemnation of the site started in 1969.<ref name="nyt19790603">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/03/archives/15year-dispute-over-lease-for-coney-island-steeplechase-continues.html|title=15-Year Dispute Over Lease for Coney Island Steeplechase Continues|last=Fowler|first=Glenn|date=June 3, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> The city ultimately purchased the proposed park's site for $4&nbsp;million, with a stipulation blocking Trump from developing the site as apartments.<ref name="nyt19859895" /><ref name="nydn19850602">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28804609/|title=A plan to bring back Coney Island|last=Mirabella|first=Alan|date=June 2, 1985|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 24, 2019|page=311|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

Trump filed a series of court cases related to the proposed residential rezoning, and ultimately won a $1.3&nbsp;million judgment.<ref name="nyt19790603" /> The Steeplechase Park site lay empty for several years. Trump started [[lease|subleasing]] the property to [[Norman Kaufman]], who ran a small collection of fairground amusements called "Steeplechase Park" on part of the site.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|172}}<ref name="nyt19790603" /> The city also leased the boardwalk and parking lot sites at extremely low rates, which resulted in a $1&nbsp;million loss of revenue over the following seven years. Since the city wanted to build the state park on the site of Kaufman's Steeplechase Park, it attempted to evict him by refusing to grant a lease extension.<ref name="nyt19770403" />

==== Late-1970s attempts at restoration ====
[[File:Abandoned giant slide at Coney Island - 05-1973.jpg|alt=|thumb|A 1973 photo of an abandoned "Giant Slide" that had been set up for a few years on the old Steeplechase site]]
The 1970s brought along further renewal plans, such as proposals to construct public housing, though the community was beset by social issues such as high crime and a drug epidemic.<ref name="jn19900902" /> By 1975, the city was considering demolishing the [[Coney Island Cyclone]] in favor of an extension of the adjacent New York Aquarium.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|153}} The proposed demolition was controversial,<ref>{{cite news|title=Aquarium Urges Razing of Coney Island Cyclone|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 27, 1975|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/27/archives/aquarium-urges-razing-of-coney-island-cyclone.html|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> and after a refurbishment by [[Astroland]], the Cyclone reopened for the summer 1975 season.<ref>{{cite book|last=Futrell|first=J.|title=Amusement Parks of New York|publisher=Stackpole Books|series=Amusement Parks Series|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8117-3262-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKOkQoVeGWAC&pg=PA66|access-date=September 15, 2018|page=66}}</ref> The abandoned Parachute Jump was left in situ, and the New York City Board of Estimate planned to tear down the structure.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|174}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Parachute Jump at Coney Island Loses Chance of Landmark Status|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 21, 1977|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/21/archives/parachute-jump-at-coney-island-loses-chance-of-landmark-status.html|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> In the meanwhile, Coney Island was still affected by a perception of crime and deterioration of old rides, but by the mid-1970s, middle-class families started returning to Coney Island following the implementation of a unified admission ticket to Coney Island's amusement areas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34018580/|title=Coney Island: battered but unbowed, it still amuses|date=April 9, 1976|work=New York Daily News|access-date=July 18, 2019|page=53|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

The city continued to pursue litigation over the site occupied by Norman Kaufman, but for over a decade, was unsuccessful.<ref name="nyt19790603" /> It had no plan for the proposed state park, and in 1975 the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] nearly withdrew a proposed grant of $2&nbsp;million to fund the proposed park.<ref name="nyt19770403">{{cite news|last=Chambers|first=Marcia|ref=none|title=New York, After 10 Years, Finds Plan to Create a Coney Island Park Is Unsuccessful|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 3, 1977|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/03/archives/new-york-after-10-years-finds-plan-to-create-a-coney-island-park-is.html|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> The city ultimately accepted the grant, though different city agencies still disagreed over whether to return the funds.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chambers|first=Marcia|ref=none|title=City, in a Shift, Says Coney I. Park Should Become Amusement Area|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 16, 1977|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/16/archives/city-in-a-shift-says-coney-i-park-should-become-amusement-area.html|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> Kaufman continued to operate the site until the end of summer 1980. The following June, the city paid Kaufman a million dollars for the rides, effectively evicting him, even though the amusements were estimated to be worth much less.<ref name="nyt19810829" /><ref name="nydn19850602" />

In 1979, the state announced that it would be conducting a report on the feasibility of legalizing gambling in New York State. Mayor [[Ed Koch]] proposed that the state open casinos in New York City to revitalize the area's economy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lynn|first=Frank|title=Koch Urges City Be Considered as a Site for Gambling Casinos|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 6, 1979|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/04/06/archives/koch-urges-city-be-considered-as-a-site-for-gambling-casinos-panel.html|access-date=September 16, 2018}}</ref> Residents and politicians supported the idea of building casinos at Coney Island, which they felt would alleviate its poverty, crime, and property vacancy rates.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28712821/|title=Casinos seen as a Coney lifesaver|last=Fitzgerald|first=Owen|date=June 21, 1979|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 21, 2019|page=652|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> However, there was substantial controversy over the plans to place a gambling site in Coney Island.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/14/archives/opinions-mixed-on-casino-plan-in-coney-island-prospect-of-gambling.html|title=Opinions Mixed On Casino Plan In Coney Island|last=Basler|first=Barbara|date=August 14, 1979|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 15, 2018}}</ref> The state's interest in legalizing gambling had subsided by 1981, and the New York state legislature failed to take action on such proposal.<ref name="nydn19821117">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28713218/|title=Effort renewed for rides park|last=Fitzgerald|first=Owen|date=November 17, 1982|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 21, 2019|page=110|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="nyt19810829">{{cite news|last=Campbell|first=Colin|title=Beleaguered Coney Islanders Rally with Sense of Affection – The Talk of Coney Island|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 29, 1981|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/29/nyregion/beleaguered-coney-islanders-rally-with-sense-affection-talk-coney-island.html|access-date=September 16, 2018}}</ref>

In an effort to reduce crime, the city also began demolishing abandoned bungalows in Coney Island.<ref name="jn19900902" /> By 1982, the area was filled with vacant lots, though several residential developments were being planned for Coney Island.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/25/nyregion/about-new-york-a-ray-of-hope-gleams-in-coney-island.html|title=About New York; a Ray of Hope Gleams in Coney Island|last=Quindlen|first=Anna|date=February 25, 1982|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref> Having finally acquired Kaufman's rides, the New York City government began advertising for developers to redevelop the former amusement park area that November.<ref name="nydn19821117" /> The Mermaid-Neptune Development Corporation constructed three residential developments at the neighborhood's western edge, with a combined total of 430 units. These developments were completed through the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/10/realestate/postings-housing-reprieve.html|title=Postings – Housing Reprieve|date=June 10, 1984|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref> Even so, the area still suffered from drug-related killings and other crimes, especially west of West 20th Street. Former amusement structures such as the Parachute Jump lay unused, and prostitutes roamed around the neighborhood at night.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/20/nyregion/the-talk-of-coney-island-at-coney-i-symbols-of-heyday-fading-away.html|title=The Talk of Coney Island; at Coney I., Symbols of Heyday Fading Away|last=Chira|first=Susan|date=August 20, 1983|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nydn19850602" /> Through the 1980s, prostitution and drug use in Coney Island increased, as did the area's murder and felony crime rate.<ref>{{cite news|last=Freedman|first=Samuel G.|title=Coney I.: Symbol of Fun Is Now One of Despair|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 29, 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/29/nyregion/coney-i-symbol-of-fun-is-now-one-of-despair.html|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> By the late 1980s, deadly shootings were common, particularly in the low-income housing developments inside Coney Island.<ref>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Winston|title=The Talk of Coney Island – Faded Funland: Fears and Hopes|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 18, 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/18/nyregion/the-talk-of-coney-island-faded-funland-fears-and-hopes.html|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Commercial activity also decreased, and by 1990, storefronts on Mermaid Avenue had decreased by 90%, from over 400 stores before the urban renewal to 39 stores afterward.<ref name="jn19900902" />

=== 1980s and 1990s revival ===
==== Bullard plan and Sportsplex ====
[[File:CI BUG apts fr W12 jeh.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Co-ops in Coney Island]]
In the mid-1980s, restaurant mogul [[Horace Bullard]] proposed rebuilding Steeplechase Park.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|150}}<ref name="nydn19850602" /> On the site bounded by West 15th and 19th Streets between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk, Bullard wanted to build a $55&nbsp;million amusement park based on the originals. The city agreed, and the project was approved in 1985.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|150}}<ref name="nyt19859895">{{cite news|last=Carmody|first=Deirdre|title=Reborn Steeplechase Park Planned at Coney I.|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 5, 1985|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/05/nyregion/reborn-steeplechase-park-planned-at-coney-i.html|access-date=September 16, 2018}}</ref> Bullard planned to open the park by mid-1986 to coincide with the [[Statue of Liberty]]'s centennial.<ref name="nyt19859895" /> However, the project was delayed while the New York City Planning Commission compiled an environmental impact report.<ref name="nyt19860329">{{cite news|last=Rangel|first=Jesus|ref=none|title=Coney I. Opening Season with Hope|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 29, 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/29/nyregion/coney-i-opening-season-with-hope.html|access-date=September 16, 2018}}</ref> By early 1987, the cost of the amusement park nearly doubled, to $100&nbsp;million.<ref name="nyt19870605">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/05/nyregion/broad-redevelopment-is-urged-for-coney-island.html|title=Broad Redevelopment Is Urged for Coney Island|last=Rangel|first=Jesus|date=June 5, 1987|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>

Concurrently, in December 1986, the New York State Urban Development Corporation formally proposed a 17,000-seat minor-league baseball stadium north of the boardwalk between West 19th and West 22nd Streets as well as 15,000-seat indoor arena north of the Abe Stark Rink. Negotiations were ongoing with the [[New York Mets|Mets]] and [[New York Yankees|Yankees]] to ensure their support for the minor-league stadium.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rangel|first=Jesus|ref=none|title=State Proposes Baseball Stadium for Coney I.|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 5, 1986|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/05/nyregion/state-proposes-baseball-stadium-for-coney-i.html|access-date=September 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name="nydn19870426">{{cite news|title=The Business of Bringing Baseball Back to Brooklyn|last=Arena|first=Salvatore|date=April 26, 1987|work=New York Daily News|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28807554/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28807722/ 8–9]|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> State senator [[Thomas J. Bartosiewicz|Thomas Bartosiewicz]] attempted to block Bullard's plan, as he was part of a foundation that had promised another developer, Sportsplex, the right to build an amateur sports arena on the site.<ref name="nyt19870605" /><ref name="nydn19870426" /> Construction was held up for another four years, and by 1989, Bullard and the city were ready to sign a contract that would allow the developer to construct a 60-ride amusement park on a {{Convert|25|acre|ha|abbr=|adj=on}} waterfront strip, which would be completed by 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/09/business/real-estate-coney-island-development-deal-gaining.html|title=Real Estate; Coney Island Development Deal Gaining|last=Kennedy|first=Shawn G.|date=August 9, 1989|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Other proposals for the area included a $7.9&nbsp;million restoration of the boardwalk, as well as a new high-school and college sports stadium.<ref name="nyt19860329" />

Some of Coney Island's iconic rides were designated as official city landmarks during the late 1980s.<ref name="be20160511" /> In 1988, the Cyclone roller coaster was made a New York City designated landmark.<ref name="nyt19870713">{{cite news|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|title=Coney I. Thriller Becomes Landmark|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 13, 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/13/nyregion/coney-i-thriller-becomes-landmark.html|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> This was followed by the Parachute Jump and the Wonder Wheel in 1989.<ref name="be20160511">{{Cite web|url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/05/11/coney-island-landmarks-present-and-we-hope-future/|title=Coney Island landmarks, present and (we hope) future|date=May 11, 2016|website=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> The neighborhood's high crime rate had reversed slightly by the 1990s. However, Coney Island's relative isolation from the rest of New York City, along with its ethnic diversity, deprived the area of significant political power, and to a greater extent money.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wolff|first=Craig|title=Coney Island on the Edge; A Region's Venerable Magic Is Buffeted by Modern Times|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 25, 1994|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/nyregion/coney-island-on-the-edge-a-region-s-venerable-magic-is-buffeted-by-modern-times.html|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>

==== Changes to plans ====
After [[Rudy Giuliani]] took office as New York City mayor in 1994, he negated the Bullard deal by approving the construction of a minor-league baseball stadium on the site allotted for Steeplechase Park.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|150}} Giuliani had wanted to build Sportsplex in order to improve sports facilities in the area, and to create a professional baseball team in Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite news|last=Farrell|first=Bill|title=Baseball Pitch Back in Sportsplex Mix Rally for Coney Venue|work=New York Daily News|date=January 21, 1998|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/baseball-pitch-back-sportsplex-mix-rally-coney-venue-article-1.788295|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref> By the late 1990s, some $67&nbsp;million had been secured for the development of Sportsplex.<ref name="nyt19981123" /> In 1997, developer [[Bruce Ratner]] proposed constructing a $100&nbsp;million entertainment complex between West 9th and West 15th Streets, with a "virtual-reality amusement park" as well as a [[Multiplex (movie theater)|movie theater multiplex]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/21/nyregion/with-times-square-reborn-attention-turns-to-coney-island.html|title=With Times Square Reborn, Attention Turns to Coney Island|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=July 21, 1997|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Concurrently, a four-phase, 873-unit housing development in Coney Island was completed in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rozhon|first=Tracie|title=Coney Island Housing Project Complete|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 22, 1996|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/22/business/coney-island-housing-project-complete.html|access-date=February 27, 2019}}</ref>

In 1998, Giuliani canceled Sportsplex and the entertainment complex, and instead unveiled another plan where only the parking lot would be built. The Sports Foundation had prepared another proposal that would allow a scaled-down Sportsplex to be built next to the minor-league baseball stadium.<ref name="nyt19981123">{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Douglas|title=Back to the Drawing Board in Coney Island|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 23, 1998|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/23/nyregion/back-to-the-drawing-board-in-coney-island.html|access-date=November 13, 2015}}</ref> The minor league team was called the Brooklyn Cyclones, though naming rights to the stadium were sold to [[Keyspan Energy]]. Bullard, now no longer rebuilding Steeplechase Park, had wanted to restore the Thunderbolt as part of a scaled-down amusement park, but it was demolished instead.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|150}} In 2000, the city approved the $31&nbsp;million project to construct [[Maimonides Park|Keyspan Park]] using the funds from the canceled Sportsplex,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/12/nyregion/deal-gives-coney-island-a-ballpark-and-a-team-that-some-didn-t-want.html|title=Deal Gives Coney Island a Ballpark, and a Team That Some Didn't Want|last=Barnes|first=Julian E.|date=April 12, 2000|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> and the minor-league baseball stadium opened the following year.<ref name="nyt20010626">{{cite news|last=Vecsey|first=George|title=Summer Rite Returns To Borough of Churches|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 26, 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/26/sports/sports-of-the-times-summer-rite-returns-to-borough-of-churches.html|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Other major projects at the time included the reconstruction of Coney Island's sewers and the refurbishment of the Stillwell Avenue subway station,<ref name="nyt19981123" /> the latter of which was completed in 2005.<ref name="nyt20050528">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/28/nyregion/and-now-for-the-good-news-from-the-subway-system.html|title=And Now for the Good News From the Subway System|last=Chan|first=Sewell|ref=none|date=May 28, 2005|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 15, 2016}}</ref>

=== 2000s and 2010s ===

==== Thor Equities ownership and rezoning proposals ====
[[File:Astroland Coney Island by David Shankbone.JPG|thumb|left|The Wonder Wheel and Astroland Park from a Coney Island beach]]

In 2003, Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] took an interest in revitalizing Coney Island as a possible site for the [[New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics|New York City bid]] of the [[2012 Summer Olympics bids|2012 Summer Olympics]]. A plan was developed by the [[Astella Development Corporation]]. When the city lost the Olympic bid, the plans were passed to the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC), which made modified plans.<ref name="nycedc2005">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nycedc.com/press-release/mayor-bloomberg-announces-strategic-plan-future-coney-island|title=Mayor Bloomberg Announces Strategic Plan for Future of Coney Island|date=September 14, 2005|work=NYCEDC|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721043650/https://www.nycedc.com/press-release/mayor-bloomberg-announces-strategic-plan-future-coney-island|archive-date=July 21, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shortly before the CIDC's plans were to be publicly released, a development company named [[Thor Equities]] purchased all of Bullard's {{convert|168000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} western property for $13&nbsp;million, later selling the property to [[Taconic Investment Partners]] for over $90&nbsp;million.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|158}} Taconic now had {{convert|100|acre|ha}}, on which it planned to build 2,000 apartment units.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|158–159}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Fung|first=Amanda|title=Coney Island keeper|website=Crain's New York Business|date=June 28, 2009|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090628/SMALLBIZ/306289868/coney-island-keeper|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref> Thor then went about using much of its $77&nbsp;million profit to purchase property on Stillwell Avenue for well over market value, and offered to buy out every piece of property inside the traditional amusement area.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|158–159}}

In September 2005, Thor's founder, [[Joe Sitt]], unveiled his new plans for a large [[Bellagio (resort)|Bellagio]]-style hotel resort with a [[timeshare]] development, surrounded by rides and amusements. The CIDC report suggested adding year-round commercial and amusement area, and recommended that property north of Surf Avenue and west of Abe Stark Rink could be rezoned for other uses, including residential.<ref name="nycedc2005" /> Sitt, a resident of the area, spent more than $100&nbsp;million to buy land in Coney Island.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/nyregion/04coney.html|title=Down by the Boardwalk, a $1 Billion Revival Plan|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=July 4, 2006|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> Astroland owner Carol Hill Albert, whose husband's family had owned the park since its 1962 opening, sold the site to Thor in November 2006. Two months later, Thor released renderings for a $1.5&nbsp;billion amusement park, entertainment complex, and indoor water park called Coney Island Park.<ref>{{cite news|title=A $1.5 Billion Vision for Coney Island|newspaper=[[The New York Sun]]|url=https://www.nysun.com/new-york/15-billion-vision-for-coney-island/43372/|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="ny1-20061114">{{cite web|title=Plans Coming Together For Coney Island Amusement Park Expansion|website=ny1.com|date=November 14, 2006|url=http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=9&aid=64315|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008063611/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=9&aid=64315|archive-date=October 8, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref>

In 2007, the DCP started circulating a rezoning plan that would cover {{Convert|47|acre|ha|abbr=}} of Coney Island. The city would spend $120&nbsp;million to redevelop {{Convert|15|acre|ha|abbr=}} into an amusement park surrounded by around 5,000 new housing units.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/home.html|title=New York City Department of City Planning&nbsp;— Amanda M. Burden, Director|publisher=Nyc.gov|access-date=August 13, 2012}}</ref><ref name="nyt20070109">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/nyregion/09coney.html|title=City Offers Coney Island Plan That Conflicts with a Developer's|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=November 9, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> The Aquarium was also planning a renovation in conjunction with the rezoning.<ref name="ny1-20061114" /> The city's and Sitt's proposals directly conflicted: Sitt wanted to build housing inside the amusement park, while the city's rezoning would create a special amusement district where residential development was forbidden.<ref name="nyt20070109" /><ref name="nyt20090217">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/nyregion/17coney.html|title=City and Developer Spar Over Coney Island Visions|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|ref=none|date=February 16, 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> In April 2008, because of objections from land owners, residents, and developers, the city revised its rezoning proposal. Only 9 acres would be used as an amusement park, while private owners and developers could build on the rest of the land as long as they followed the DCP's general master plan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/nyregion/17coney.html|title=City's Coney Island Design Revised to Break Deadlock|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|date=April 17, 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> While the city negotiated with Thor, Sitt evicted several amusement operators on his land, including Astroland, in the expectation that he would soon be able to redevelop it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/nyregion/11coney.html|title=City and Developer at Odds Over Future of Coney Island|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|ref=none|date=April 10, 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:COneyIsland1506.jpg|thumb|right|Senior housing in Coney Island]]
The DCP certified the rezoning plan in January 2009,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/luproc/ulpro.shtml|title=Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)&nbsp;– New York City Department of City Planning|publisher=Nyc.gov|access-date=August 13, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719144905/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/luproc/ulpro.shtml|archive-date=July 19, 2012}}</ref> which allowed the city to create a {{Convert|9.4|acre|ha|abbr=|adj=on}} amusement district.<ref name="nyt20091112">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/nyregion/12coney.html|title=New York to Buy 7 Acres in Coney Island, Hoping for Revival|last=Bagli|first=Charles V.|ref=none|date=November 11, 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> At the time, Thor Equities said it hoped to complete the project by 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Santos|first=Fernanda|title=Coney Island's Astroland Closes, Maybe for Good|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 10, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/nyregion/10coney.html|access-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref> In June 2009, the city's planning commission approved the construction of 4,500 units of housing, including 900 affordable units, and promised to preserve affordable housing already in the neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web|last=Edroso|first=Roy|title=New York – Runnin' Scared – Planning Commission Approves Unloved Coney Plan|website=The Village Voice|date=July 3, 2009|url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/06/planning_commis.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703160349/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/06/planning_commis.php|archive-date=July 3, 2009|url-status=dead|access-date=October 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nyt20091112" /> Subsequently, the city government paid Sitt $95.6&nbsp;million for {{Convert|7|acre|ha|abbr=}} of land.<ref name="nyt20091112" /> The nonprofit civic group [[Municipal Art Society]] wanted the city-operated park to be larger, though the city was reluctant to spend so much money.<ref name="nyt20090217" />

==== New attractions ====
The Zipper and Spider on West 12th Street were closed permanently and dismantled in 2006.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sederstrom | first=Jotham | title='we Were All Hoping for One More Season' Coney Developers Forcing Out Rides, Games, Shops | website=New York Daily News | date=October 26, 2006 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/10/26/we-were-all-hoping-for-one-more-season-coney-developers-forcing-out-rides-games-shops/ | access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref> The next year, plans to restore Coney Island's historic [[B&B Carousell]] were revealed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/13/nyregion/13carousel.html|title=Plans Afoot to Restore Coney Island Carousel for New Spin on the Boardwalk|last=McGeehan|first=Patrick|date=September 13, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> After Astroland closed in 2008,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=22385|title=Coney Island amusement park closing: News & Videos about Coney Island amusement park closing|work=Ireport.com|publisher=CNN|access-date=March 17, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230203827/http://www.ireport.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?topicId=22385|archive-date=December 30, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> it was replaced by a new [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 2009)|Dreamland]] in 2009<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/dreamland-amusement-park-place-astroland-coney-island-article-1.362110|title=Dreamland amusement park to take place of Astroland at Coney Island|last=Sederstrom|first=Jotham|date=April 8, 2009|website=New York Daily News|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> and by a new [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010)|Luna Park]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/23/all_coneypreview_2010_06_04_bk.html|title=It's Saturday — and a new day dawns at Coney Island|last=Donahue|first=Courtney|date=June 4, 2010|website=Brooklyn Paper|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gonna-new-coney-island-baby-19-rides-added-luna-park-article-1.198180|title=It's gonna be a new Coney Island, baby! 19 rides added to Luna Park|last=Durkin|first=Erin|date=February 20, 2010|website=New York Daily News|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> In April 2011, the first new roller coasters to be built at Coney Island in eighty years were opened as part of efforts to reverse the decline of the amusement area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rollercoasters-idUSTRE73K57P20110421|title=Coney Island gets first new roller coasters in 80 years|date=April 21, 2011|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> The B&B Carousell reopened in 2013 at Luna Park.<ref name="nyt2130524" /> The [[Thunderbolt (2014 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]] steel roller coaster, named after the original wooden coaster on the site, was opened in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/coney-island-new-thunderbolt-roller-coaster-officially-opens-article-1.1830380|title=Coney Island's new Thunderbolt roller coaster officially opens|date=June 14, 2014|work=New York Daily News|access-date=June 29, 2014|author=Brown, Stephen R.}}</ref> Furthermore, a live performance venue, the [[Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island]], opened on the boardwalk in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pix11.com/2016/06/29/massive-entertainment-amphitheater-opens-on-iconic-coney-island-boardwalk/|title=Massive entertainment amphitheater opens on iconic Coney Island Boardwalk|date=June 29, 2016|website=WPIX 11 New York|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Coney Island Brooklyn Jul 2019 03.jpg|thumb|Conversion of the [[Shore Theater]] into a hotel, seen in 2019]]

In 2012, [[Hurricane Sandy]] caused major damage to the Coney Island amusement parks, the Aquarium, and businesses. Despite this, the [[Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest]] was held the following summer, as usual.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nathan's Famous to Reopen in Spring 2013 after Hurricane Sandy|website=Brooklyn Paper|date=December 7, 2012|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/35/48/all_nathansrecovery_2012_12_07_bk.html|access-date=October 22, 2019}}</ref> Luna Park at Coney Island reopened as scheduled on March 24, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Despite Sandy's Wrath, Coney Island's Luna Park To Reopen On Schedule Sunday|date=March 22, 2013|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/03/22/despite-sandys-wrath-coney-islands-luna-park-to-reopen-on-schedule-sunday/|work=CBS News New York|access-date=March 22, 2013}}</ref> Rebuilding of the aquarium started in early 2013, and a major expansion of the aquarium opened in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/inside-ocean-wonders-sharks-at-the-new-york-aquarium.html|title=What to Know About the New York Aquarium's New Shark Building|last=Schneider|first=Katy|date=June 28, 2018|website=Daily Intelligencer|access-date=June 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/arts/design/new-york-aquarium-sharks-sandy.html|title=Coney Island's Newest Wonder: Sharkitecture!|last=Hodgson|first=Sam|date=June 28, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 1, 2018}}</ref> That August, the NYCEDC and NYC Parks announced that Luna Park would be expanded between West 15th and West 16th Streets, next to the Thunderbolt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Log flume ride, zip lines coming to Coney Island|website=AM New York|date=August 23, 2018|url=https://www.amny.com/news/coney-island-luna-park-expansion-1.20626460|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Chung 2018">{{cite web|last=Chung|first=Jen|title=Coney Island's Luna Park Is Getting Log Flume Ride, A Ropes Course, And More!|website=Gothamist|date=August 23, 2018|url=http://gothamist.com/2018/08/23/luna_park_expanding_coney_island.php|access-date=August 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823223421/http://gothamist.com/2018/08/23/luna_park_expanding_coney_island.php|archive-date=August 23, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> There would be three public plazas and an [[amusement arcade]] within the newly expanded amusement area.<ref name="Chung 2018" /><ref>{{cite web|title=City Unveils Plans for New Water Park, Arcade On Coney Island|website=CBS New York|date=August 23, 2018|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/08/23/city-unveils-plans-for-new-water-park-arcade-on-coney-island/|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref> The same month, it was also announced that a 50-room [[boutique hotel]] was being planned for Coney Island within the former [[Shore Theater]] on Surf and Stillwell Avenues.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ramirez|first=Jeanine|title=Coney Island could see first new hotel in over 50 years|website=Spectrum News NY1 {{pipe}} New York City|date=August 21, 2018|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/08/21/coney-island-could-see-first-new-hotel-in-over-50-years|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Franklin|first=Sydney|title=Shore Theater on Coney Island will be converted into a boutique hotel|website=Archpaper.com|date=August 21, 2018|url=https://archpaper.com/2018/08/shore-theater-coney-island-hotel/|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref> The city also expressed its intent to demolish the Abe Stark Rink and redevelop the site, as per the 2009 rezoning, though residents wanted NYC Parks to retain control over the site rather than sell it off to a private developer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Locals demand beloved Coney ice rink remain under Parks Department control|website=Brooklyn Daily|date=August 31, 2018|url=https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2018/35/bn-abe-stark-demolition-2018-08-31-bk.html|access-date=September 15, 2018|archive-date=September 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915192234/https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2018/35/bn-abe-stark-demolition-2018-08-31-bk.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== 2020s to present ===
Many of these construction projects were placed on hold in 2020 with the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]]. That year, the businesses and amusement parks at Coney Island either operated in a sharply reduced capacity or did not open at all.<ref>{{cite web|title=An endless bummer? Coney Island gripped by uncertainty as summer approaches in COVID-19 era|url=https://www.amny.com/brooklyn/a-cyclone-of-uncertainty-for-coney-island-businesses-as-summer-approaches-in-covid-19-era/|last=Maisel|first=Todd|date=May 12, 2020|website=AM NewYork|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Coney Island Businesses Plead for a Lifesaver to Survive Extended Shutdown|url=http://thecity.nyc/2020/05/nycs-coney-island-beach-in-cyclone-of-confusion-for-summer.html|last=Michel|first=Clifford|date=May 7, 2020|website=The City|access-date=May 13, 2020|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513095820/https://thecity.nyc/2020/05/nycs-coney-island-beach-in-cyclone-of-confusion-for-summer.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vespoli|first=Lauren|date=May 21, 2020|title=Can Coney Island Survive This?|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/nyregion/coronavirus-coney-island.html|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref> The parks reopened for the 2021 season,<ref name="Yakas 2021">{{cite web | last=Yakas | first=Ben | title=Photos: Coney Island Joyfully Reopens After 18 Month Shutdown | website=Gothamist | date=April 9, 2021 | url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/photos-coney-island-joyfully-reopens-after-18-month-shutdown | access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> and Luna Park's expansion commenced in October 2021.<ref name="Brooklyn Eagle 2021">{{cite web | title=Coney's Luna Park to expand with new thrill rides, more space | website=Brooklyn Eagle | date=October 7, 2021 | url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/10/07/coneys-luna-park-to-expand-with-new-thrill-rides-more-space/ | access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref><ref name="ABC7 New York 2021">{{cite web | title=Coney Island's Luna Park breaks ground on Sky Chaser, Super Flume, J2SK Coaster | website=ABC7 New York | date=October 5, 2021 | url=https://abc7ny.com/luna-park-coney-island-amusement-sky-chaser/11084826/ | access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> The addition of new amusements coincided with the development of over 2,000 new residential units on empty lots through the early 2020s.<ref name="Maldonado Pierre-Louis 2022 k260">{{cite web | last1=Maldonado | first1=Samantha | last2=Pierre-Louis | first2=Kendra | title=Hurricane Sandy Devastated Coney Island 10 Years Ago. So Why Has NYC Added Almost 2,000 Homes to the Area Since? | website=[[The City (website)|The City]] – NYC News | date=October 27, 2022 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/10/27/hurricane-sandy-coney-island-climate-change-development/ | access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/28/coney-island-sees-a-budding-real-estate-boom-after-years-of-decline.html|title=Coney Island, home to hot dogs and the Cyclone roller coaster, sees a budding real estate boom|last=Bukszpan|first=Daniel|date=December 30, 2018|publisher=CNBC|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/11/04/wave-of-residential-construction-in-coney-island-to-attract-new-residents-|title=A Wave of New Housing is Being Built in Coney Island|website=ny1.com|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> These included a 1,000-unit mega-development<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/4/16850666/coney-island-surf-avenue-megaproject|title=Massive Coney Island development to have 1,000 apartments, retail|last=Warerkar|first=Tanay|date=January 4, 2018|website=Curbed NY|access-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref> and a three-tower, 499-unit mixed-use complex.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rew-online.com/cammebys-rybak-announce-next-phase-of-neptune-sixth/ |title=Cammeby's, Rybak announce next phase of Neptune/Sixth |date=December 17, 2021 |access-date=August 30, 2023 |website=Real Estate Weekly}}</ref> The new housing units were built despite the fact that the neighborhood was among the areas in New York City that were most vulnerable to flooding due to increases in sea levels.<ref name="Maldonado Pierre-Louis 2022 k260" /> By 2023, half a dozen apartment buildings had been or were being built along Surf Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |date=October 17, 2023 |title=After a lull, Coney Island adds a half-dozen new apartment towers |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/who-owns-block/coney-island-adds-new-apartment-towers-bid-reinvent-surf-avenue |access-date=June 19, 2025 |website=Crain&#039;s New York Business}}</ref>

In February 2025, the city government announced plans for the Coney Island West project, which would include 1,500 housing units on the peninsula's western end, as well as upgrades to the Stark Rink and the Riegelmann Boardwalk's western section.<ref>{{cite web |last=Roche |first=Daniel Jonas |date=February 28, 2025 |title=ONE shares Coney Island housing and coastal resiliency plan |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2025/02/one-housing-housing-coastal-resiliency-coney-island/ |access-date=June 19, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brendlen |first=Kirstyn |date=February 20, 2025 |title=NYC Unveils Plan to Revitalize Coney Island |url=https://www.amny.com/news/city-unveils-bold-vision-coney-island/ |access-date=June 19, 2025 |website=amNewYork}}</ref> The city government announced plans that June for an additional 1,100 housing units in Coney Island.<ref>{{cite web | last=Durso | first=Isabelle | title=Adams Announces Partners to Build 1,100 New Homes on Coney Island | website=Commercial Observer | date=2025-06-17 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2025/06/eric-adams-housing-coney-island/ | access-date=2025-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Coney Island to Add 1,100 More Units of Affordable Housing | website=Connect CRE | date=2025-06-18 | url=https://www.connectcre.com/stories/coney-island-to-add-1100-more-units-of-affordable-housing/ | access-date=2025-06-18}}</ref>

==== The Coney casino proposal ====

{{Infobox casino
| name = The Coney
| logo =
| logo_size =
| logo_caption =
| image =
| image_size =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| pushpin_label_position = none
| coordinates =
| location = [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[United States]]
| address =
| date_opened = cancelled
| date_closed =
| theme =
| rooms = 500
| space_gaming =
| shows =
| attractions =
| notable_restaurants =
| casino_type = [[Resort]]
| owner =
| license_holder = Saratoga Casino Holdings LLC
| architect =
| names_pre =
| renovations =
| website = https://theconeynyc.com/
}}

In November 2022, Sitt proposed constructing a casino at Coney Island to attract tourists.<ref name="Hallum 2022">{{cite web | last=Hallum | first=Mark | title=Thor Looks to Hammer Competition in $3B Bid for Coney Island Casino | website=Commercial Observer | date=November 22, 2022 | url=https://commercialobserver.com/2022/11/thor-looks-to-hammer-competition-in-3b-bid-for-coney-island-casino/ | access-date=January 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Thor Equities unveils $3B Coney Island casino bid | website=Crain's New York Business | last=Elstein | first=Aaron | date=November 22, 2022 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/commercial-real-estate/thor-equities-proposes-3b-casino-coney-island | access-date=January 7, 2023}}</ref> This proposal followed an announcement by New York state officials in April 2022 that they would issue three [[casino]] licenses in [[Downstate New York]].<ref name="nyt-2022-10-21">{{Cite news |last1=Hong |first1=Nicole |last2=Rubinstein |first2=Dana |date=October 21, 2022 |title=Where Could a Casino Be Built in New York City? What We Know|newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/nyc-casino-tracker.html |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Short 2022">{{cite web |last=Short |first=Aaron |date=August 9, 2022 |title=Manhattan Casino Push Could Turn Out to be a House of Cards |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2022/08/manhattan-casino-push/ |access-date=October 30, 2022 |website=Commercial Observer}}</ref> Although the nearby [[Brooklyn Community Board 11]] voted in early 2024 to allow Coney Island to be rezoned for casino use,<ref name="Camille j554">{{cite web | last=Camille | first=Jada | title=Bensonhurst community board votes in favor of casino zoning, with conditions, paving the way for 'The Coney' | website=Brooklyn Paper | date=January 16, 2024 | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/bensonhurst-community-board-casino-zoning/ | access-date=May 8, 2024}}</ref> some residents opposed the planned casino, which would be known as the Coney.<ref name="Paper q425">{{cite web | title=Coney Island Locals Voice Opposition to Gaming at Anti-Casino Panel | website=Brownstoner | last=Camille | first=Jada | date=February 15, 2024 | url=https://www.brownstoner.com/development/coney-island-locals-against-casino-panel/ | access-date=May 8, 2024}}</ref> [[Thor Equities]], [[Legends Hospitality]], Saratoga Casino Holdings, and the [[Chickasaw Nation]] would be the developers. If the Coney were built, the structure would include a 32-story hotel with 500 rooms, {{Convert|90,000|ft2}} of convention space, {{Convert|70,000|ft2}} of retail and dining space, and a 2,500-seat concert venue.<ref>{{cite web | last=Short | first=Aaron | title=Breaking down every 2025 New York casino license bid | website=City &amp; State NY | date=February 10, 2025 | url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2025/02/breaking-down-every-2025-new-york-casino-licenses-bid/402815/ | access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Hallum 2024 w035">{{cite web |last=Hallum |first=Mark |date=May 16, 2024 |title=Thor and Partners Release Scale of Coney Casino Proposal |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2024/05/thor-and-partners-release-scale-of-coney-casino-proposal/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Commercial Observer}}</ref><ref name="Rogers 2024 p242">{{cite web |last=Rogers |first=Jack |date=May 20, 2024 |title=Thor, Partners Plan $3B Coney Island Casino Development |url=https://www.globest.com/2024/05/20/thor-partners-plan-3b-coney-island-casino-development/?slreturn=2024052491248 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=GlobeSt}}</ref> The developers of the project submitted their bid for a commercial casino license on June 27, 2025.<ref>{{cite web | last=O'Connor | first=Devin | title=New York Fields Eight Bids for Three Downstate Casinos | website=Casino.org | date=June 27, 2025 | url=https://www.casino.org/news/new-york-fields-eight-bids-for-three-downstate-casinos/ | access-date=June 27, 2025}}</ref> Shortly after the submission, the city council approved the necessary zoning changes for the resort, which included eliminating part of Bowery Street.<ref>{{cite web | last=Brendlen | first=Kirstyn | title=Rolling the dice: City Council approves Coney Island casino rezoning as state begins to consider gaming licenses | website=Brooklyn Paper | date=June 30, 2025 | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/city-council-approves-coney-island-casino/ | access-date=July 1, 2025}}</ref> On September 29, 2025, the community advisory committee voted 4–2 to reject the casino proposal,<ref>{{cite news |last=Garber |first=Nick |date=September 29, 2025 |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/coney-island-casino-rejected-board-despite-last-minute-pledges |title=Coney Island casino rejected by board despite last-minute pledges |work=Crain's New York Business |access-date=September 29, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Kvetenadze | first=Téa | title=Bally's Bronx casino plan advances, while Coney Island gambling dream dies | website=New York Daily News | date=September 29, 2025 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/29/ballys-bronx-casino-plan-advances-while-coney-island-gambling-dream-dies/ | access-date=September 30, 2025}}</ref> effectively ending the plan.<ref>{{cite web | last=Garber | first=Nick | title=Coney Island casino appears dead, continuing string of rejections | website=Crain&#039;s New York Business | date=September 22, 2025 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/coney-island-casino-appears-dead-continuing-string-rejections | access-date=September 24, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Brendlen |first=Kirstyn |date=September 22, 2025 |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/coney-island-casino-cac-members-announce-no-votes/ |title=Coney Island casino bid appears poised to fail as CAC members announce 'no' votes |work=Brooklyn Paper |access-date=September 22, 2025}}</ref>

=== Oral history archive ===
In 2004, the [[Coney Island History Project]] began collecting stories of Coney Island from longtime residents.<ref name="bw20170403">{{Cite web|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Coney Island History Project to Celebrate Opening Day with Photo Ops, Oral Histories, Tributes and More|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/brooklyn/article/Coney-Island-History-Project-to-Celebrate-Opening-Day-with-Photo-Ops-Oral-Histories-Tributes-and-More-20170403|access-date=September 22, 2020|website=[[BroadwayWorld]]}}</ref> The CIHP records, archives, and shares oral history interviews about Coney Island.<ref name="bw20170403" /> The organizations conducts interviews in English, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Coney Island History Project {{!}} Brooklyn Community Foundation|url=https://brooklyncommunityfoundation.org/nonprofits/coney-island-history-project|access-date=September 17, 2020|website=brooklyncommunityfoundation.org|date=September 28, 2018|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420234454/https://brooklyncommunityfoundation.org/nonprofits/coney-island-history-project|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the CIHP continued to record interviews via phone or Skype.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 1, 2020|title=Record your Coney Island Memories over the Phone or via Skype|url=https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/blog/news/record-your-coney-island-memories-over-phone-or-skype|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=Coney Island History Project}}</ref> {{as of|2020}} over 370 interviews were available online via the Coney Island History Project Oral History Archive.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oral History Archive|url=https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/oral-history-archive|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=Coney Island History Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Alonzo Kittrels|title=Back in the Day: Photos help to bring back fond memories with father|url=https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/backintheday/back-in-the-day-photos-help-to-bring-back-fond-memories-with-father/article_dbc2ea02-87c5-5734-866e-8fb9dbc0ca01.html|access-date=September 28, 2020|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Tribune]]|date=June 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jimmy McCullough|url=https://amusingthezillion.com/tag/jimmy-mccullough/|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=Amusing the Zillion}}</ref>

== Amusement parks and attractions ==
{{anchor|Amusement parks|Theme parks|Amusement}}
Coney Island has two amusement parks, [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010)|Luna Park]] and [[Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park]], as well as several rides that are not incorporated into either amusement park. These are owned and managed by several different companies and operate independently of each other. Coney Island also has several other visitor attractions such as [[skee ball|skeeball]] and ball tossing, as well as a [[sideshow]], that contains shooting, throwing, and tossing skills. The area hosts renowned events as well. Coney Island's amusement area is one of a few in the United States that is not mostly owned by any one entity.<ref name="DeSenaShortell2012" />{{rp|153}}

=== Rides ===
==== Current rides ====
{{For|a more detailed list of rides operating in Coney Island amusement parks|Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010)#Attractions|Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park#Attractions}}
Coney Island contains three rides with landmark status. One is a [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|New York City designated landmark]], another is [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooklyn|listed]] in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP), and a third is both a city landmark and a NRHP-listed landmark.<ref name="NYCL-1708" /><ref name="NYCL-1636" /><ref>{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>

The [[Wonder Wheel]], opened in 1920, is a steel [[Ferris wheel]] with both stationary cars and rocking cars that slide along a track.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/lifestyle/wonder-wheel-photos-1.10691209|title=The Wonder Wheel at Coney celebrates its 95th summer season|last=Salazar|first=Cristian|date=July 30, 2015|website=am New York|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> It holds 144 riders, stands {{convert|150|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall, weighs over {{convert|200|ST|LT t|sp=us}}, and is located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park.<ref name="Denson 2011" />{{rp|47}} The Wonder Wheel was made a city landmark in 1989.<ref name="NYCL-1708">{{Cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1708.pdf|title=The Wonder Wheel|date=May 23, 1989|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>{{Rp|1}}

The [[B&B Carousell]] (as spelled by the frame's builder, [[William F. Mangels]]) is Coney Island's last traditional [[carousel]], near the old entrance to [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]]. The carousel was built circa 1906–1909 with a traditional roll-operated [[fairground organ]]. It was relocated multiple times, most recently to Luna Park's Steeplechase Plaza in 2013,<ref name="nyt2130524">{{cite news|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|title=B&B Carousell Horses Return Home to Coney Island|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 24, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/nyregion/bb-carousell-horses-return-home-to-coney-island.html|access-date=July 28, 2018}}</ref> and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coney Island's B&B Carousell placed on National Register of Historic Places|website=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=July 28, 2018|url=http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/3/8/coney-island%E2%80%99s-bb-carousell-placed-national-register-historic-places|access-date=July 28, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=B&B Carousell designated national historic place, up for federal preservation money|website=Brooklyn Daily|date=March 11, 2016|url=https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2016/11/bn-b-and-b-carousell-on-historic-register-2016-03-11-bk.html|access-date=July 28, 2018|archive-date=July 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731183206/https://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2016/11/bn-b-and-b-carousell-on-historic-register-2016-03-11-bk.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Coney Island Cyclone]], opened in 1927, is one of the United States' oldest [[wooden roller coaster]]s still in operation. The Cyclone includes an {{convert|85|ft|m|abbr=on}}, 58-degree drop. It is owned by the City of New York, and is operated by [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 2010)|Luna Park]] under a franchise agreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/nyregion/04critic.html|work=The New York Times|title=Thrilling Reminder of Old Coney Island|first=Ariel|last=Kaminer|date=April 2, 2010}}</ref> The Cyclone was made a city landmark in 1988<ref name="NYCL-1636">{{Cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1636.pdf|title=The Cyclone|date=July 12, 1988|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>{{Rp|1}}<ref name="nyt19870713" /> and was listed on the NRHP in 1991.<ref>{{NRISref|2013a|dateform=mdy|access-date=February 26, 2019|refnum=91000907|name=Cyclone Roller Coaster}}</ref> The Cyclone is New York City's only remaining wooden coaster and is considered "irreplaceable", since timber-supported coasters can no longer be built under modern city building codes.<ref>{{Cite landmarks|page=583}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 800
| image1 = Coney-island-cyclone-usgs-photo.jpg
| caption1 = [[Coney Island Cyclone]]
| image2 = WonderWheelNewYork.jpg
| caption2 = [[Wonder Wheel]]
| image3 = Thunderbolt 2014-08-11 view from west.JPG
| caption3 = [[Thunderbolt (2014 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]]
| image4 = Coney Carousel 006.JPG
| caption4 = [[B&B Carousell]]
}}

There are also multiple other rides in Coney Island. In March 2014, construction started on the new [[Thunderbolt (2014 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]], a [[steel roller coaster]] that was manufactured by [[Zamperla]] at a cost of $10&nbsp;million. The ride features {{Convert|2000|ft|m}} of track, a height of {{Convert|125|ft|m}}, and a top speed of {{Convert|65|mph}}, as well as four [[Roller coaster inversions|inversions]].<ref>{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Thunderbolt|location=Luna Park|rcdb_number=8788|access-date=November 16, 2013|ref=none}}<br>{{cite web|url=http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/luna-park-breaks-ground-on-new-roller-coaster-the-thunderbolt-on-coney-island-1.7344601|title=Luna Park breaks ground on new roller coaster, the Thunderbolt, on Coney Island – News 12 Brooklyn|date=March 10, 2014|publisher=Brooklyn.news12.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311180202/http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/luna-park-breaks-ground-on-new-roller-coaster-the-thunderbolt-on-coney-island-1.7344601|archive-date=March 11, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=June 4, 2014}}<br>{{cite news|title=New Roller Coaster Promises Coney Island a Return of Thrills|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2014|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/nyregion/new-roller-coaster-promises-coney-island-a-return-of-thrills.html|access-date=October 22, 2019}}<br>{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/03/10/coney-islands-luna-park-to-get-new-roller-coaster/|title=Coney Island's Luna Park To Get New Roller Coaster|work=CBS New York|date=March 10, 2014|access-date=June 4, 2014}}</ref> The Thunderbolt opened in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/coney-island-new-thunderbolt-roller-coaster-officially-opens-article-1.1830380|title=Coney Island's new Thunderbolt roller coaster officially opens|work=New York Daily News|date=June 14, 2014|access-date=June 29, 2014|last=Brown|first=Stephen R.}}</ref> Several [[bumper car]] rides in Coney Island are all operated separately. {{As of|2019||df=|since=}}, these include an attraction in Deno's Wonder Wheel Park,<ref name="denos-map">{{cite web|url=https://www.denoswonderwheel.com/s/0302-Denos-WW-Park-map-2018compressed.pdf|title=Park Map|website=Deno's Wonder Wheel|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> as well as Eldorado Auto Skooter on Surf Avenue. Historically, the earliest bumper car rides were located in Coney Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2019/02/21/bumper-cars-history/2843129002/|title=Bumper cars: A crash course on the classic amusement park ride|date=February 21, 2019|website=USA Today|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> Furthermore, two traditional [[dark ride]] [[Haunted attraction (simulated)|haunted houses]] operate at Coney Island: [[Spook-a-Rama]] at Deno's,<ref name="denos-map" /> and [[Ghost Hole]] on West 12th Street adjacent to Deno's.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coneyislandfunguide.com/fun-map-of-coney-island/|title=Fun Map of Coney Island|date=December 5, 2013|website=Coney Island Fun Guide|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227060209/http://coneyislandfunguide.com/fun-map-of-coney-island/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Former rides ====
[[File:ThunderboltConeyIsland1995.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The original [[Thunderbolt (1925 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]] in 1995]]

Coney Island has had three major amusement parks in its past—[[Steeplechase Park]] (1897–1964), [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]] (1903–1944), and [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland]] (1904–1911)—as well as several standalone attractions.<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|74}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Steeplechase, Luna Park, and Dreamland – BKM TECH|website=Brooklyn Museum|date=January 16, 2008|url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/community/blogosphere/2008/01/16/steeplechase-luna-park-and-dreamland/|access-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref> In addition, [[Astroland]] operated at the site of the current Luna Park from 1962 to 2008,<ref>{{cite web|title=Astroland is truly dead|website=Brooklyn Paper|date=September 5, 2008|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/36/31_36_mm_astroland.html|access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> while a second [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 2009)|Dreamland]] operated at that site for only the 2009 season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/nightmare-dreamland-rent-woes-shut-coney-island-park-owner-vows-court-battle-article-1.396209|title=Nightmare at Dreamland: Rent woes shut Coney Island park as owner vows court battle|last=Durkin|first=Erin|website=New York Daily News|date=August 24, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/35/32_35_mm_dreamland_is_dead.html|title=It's Over! Coney's Dreamland will be closed for the rest of the summer|last=McLaughlin|first=Mike|website=Brooklyn Paper|date=August 28, 2009|access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref>

In addition to the rides in Coney Island's former amusement parks, there were also several dozen roller coasters that are now defunct.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roller Coasters|website=Coney Island|date=June 2, 2004|url=https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/coasterlist.htm|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> The Comet, next to the Cyclone's current site, was built in 1921 and destroyed in 1945.<ref name="Denson 2011" />{{rp|46}} Another coaster, the Oriental Scenic Railway, was created by [[LaMarcus Adna Thompson]] in 1887,<ref name="Immerso2002" />{{rp|98–99}}<ref name="Denson 2011" />{{rp|41}} and was demolished in 1955 to be replaced with a "hot rod" amusement ride.<ref name="Billboard-19550129" /> The [[steeplechase roller coaster]], created by Steeplechase Park operator George C. Tilyou in 1897, consisted of people riding wooden horses around the park on a steel track.<ref name="Ierardi" /> The original wooden [[Thunderbolt (1925 roller coaster)|Thunderbolt]] coaster, located between West 15th and West 16th Streets, was constructed in 1925, closed in 1983, and torn down in 2000 during the construction of nearby Keyspan Park.<ref>{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Thunderbolt|location=Coney Island – George Moran|rcdb_number=423|access-date=November 16, 2013|ref=none}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iopOAAAAIBAJ&pg=5735%2C906219|work=Spartanburg Herald-Journal|location=South Carolina|agency=Associated Press|title=End of the line|date=November 19, 2000|page=10A}}</ref> Nearby was [[Tornado (Coney Island)|Tornado]], a wooden coaster constructed in&nbsp;1926,<ref name="Parascandola 2014" />{{rp|24}}<ref>{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Tornado|location=Coney Island – Independent Vendor 5|rcdb_number=5690|access-date=November 16, 2013|ref=none}}</ref> and destroyed by arson in 1977.<ref>{{cite news|title=3 Women Killed in Brooklyn Fires|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 11, 1977|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/11/archives/3-women-killed-in-brooklyn-fires.html|access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>

Coney Island also contains one defunct ride that is still standing, the [[Parachute Jump]]. Originally built as the [[Life Savers]] Parachute Jump at the [[1939 New York World's Fair]], this was the first ride of its kind. Patrons were hoisted {{convert|262|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the air before being allowed to drop using guy-wired parachutes. The Parachute Jump was closed in the 1960s, but was officially preserved,<ref name="nyt20050721" /> having been listed on the NRHP in 1980<ref>{{NRISref|2013a|dateform=mdy|access-date=February 26, 2019|refnum=80002645|name=Parachute Jump}}</ref> and made a city landmark in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1638.pdf|title=The Parachute Jump|date=May 23, 1989|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>{{rp|1}}

=== Beaches ===
[[File:Coney Island beach (June 2016).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|The beach at Coney Island in June 2016, with the [[Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge]] visible on the horizon]]
There is a broad public sand beach that starts at Sea Gate at West 37th Street, through the central Coney Island area and [[Brighton Beach]], to the beginning of the community of [[Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn|Manhattan Beach]], a distance of approximately {{convert|2.7|mi|km|abbr=on}}. The beach is continuous and is served for its entire length by the broad [[Riegelmann Boardwalk]]. Numerous amusements, as well as the aquarium and a variety of food shops and arcades, are directly accessible from the landward side of the boardwalk.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/coney-island-beach-and-boardwalk/highlights/204|title=Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk Highlights|date=June 26, 1939|website=Coney Island : NYC Parks|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="La Rocco 2004">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tx-3l1hZfPQC&pg=PA137|title=Going Coastal New York City|last=La Rocco|first=Barbara|publisher=Going Coastal|year=2004|isbn=978-0-9729803-0-2|page=137|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> The boardwalk in Manhattan Beach, located within Manhattan Beach Park, is not connected with the Riegelmann Boardwalk.<ref>{{cite web|title=Manhattan Beach Park : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|date=June 26, 1939|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/manhattan-beach-park|access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

The beaches in Coney Island used to be private until 1923 when the city bought all the land on the waterfront and created the Riegelmann Boardwalk and Beach.<ref>{{cite web|title=Secrets of Coney Island|website=am New York|date=August 23, 2018|url=https://www.amny.com/secrets-of-new-york/secrets-of-coney-island-1.10182810|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> Today, only the sand beach inside Sea Gate is private; it is accessible solely to residents of that community.<ref name="La Rocco 2004" />

The public beaches are maintained on a regular basis by the city. Because sand no longer naturally deposits on the beach, it is replenished in regular [[beach nourishment]] projects using [[Dredging|dredged]] sand.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The public beaches are open and free to use, though the boardwalk is closed during nights from 1 to 5 a.m.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/coney-island-beach-and-boardwalk/facilities/beaches|title=Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk Beaches : NYC Parks|date=June 26, 1939|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> The beach area is divided into several sections by rock [[groyne]]s that were built in the 1920s to prevent erosion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2583.pdf|title=Coney Island (Riegelmann) Boardwalk|date=May 15, 2018|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>{{Rp|15}}

There are several clubs that host activities on Coney Island's beach. The [[Coney Island Polar Bear Club]] consists of a group of people who swim at Coney Island throughout the winter months. Their most popular event is an annual swim on [[New Year's Day]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/secrets-of-new-york/coney-island-polar-bear-club-forging-into-the-icy-atlantic-ocean-for-decades-1.11255114|title=The Coney Island Polar Bear Club, braving the icy Atlantic|date=December 31, 2018|website=am New York|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Denson 2011">{{cite book|last=Denson|first=Charles|title=Coney Island and Astroland|publisher=Arcadia Pub.|series=Images of America Series|year=2011|isbn=978-0-7385-7428-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CVNG35jlce8C&pg=PA50|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>{{rp|50}} The beach also serves as the training grounds for the Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers, a group dedicated to promoting [[open water swimming]], which hosts several open water swim races each year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stein|first=Mara Lemos|title=Brooklyn's Swimming Mecca|website=The Wall Street Journal|date=November 24, 2011|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204452104577055950095852414|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Mooney|first=Jake|title=On a Beach in Brooklyn, an Empty Lifeguard's Chair|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 10, 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/nyregion/thecity/10disp.html|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>

{{wide image|Coney island board walk.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|The boardwalk around sunset}}

=== Public parks ===
There are several public parks in Coney Island, operated by the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Parks within the main Coney Island neighborhood include:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/maps/|title=Maps : NYC Parks|date=June 26, 1939|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|access-date=June 12, 2019}}</ref>
* The [[Abe Stark#Legacy|Abe Stark]] Skating Rink, located on the south side of Surf Avenue between West 19th and West 20th Streets, adjacent to the boardwalk. It opened in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|title=Abe Stark Skating Rink Highlights : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/abe-stark-skating-rink/history|access-date=July 22, 2018}}</ref>
* Coney Island Creek Park, located along the south shore of Coney Island Creek. Opened in 1984, it is composed mostly of plants.<ref name="NYC Parks CIC">{{cite web|title=Coney Island Creek Park : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/coney-island-creek-park/history|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
* Leon S. Kaiser Park, located on the northern side of Neptune Avenue between West 24th and West 32nd Streets, and contains playgrounds, athletic facilities, fitness equipment, and open spaces for barbecuing.<ref name="NYC Parks Kaiser">{{cite web|title=Kaiser Park : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|date=October 16, 2004|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/leon-s-kaiser-park|access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
* Poseidon Playground, located along the beach between West 25th and West 27th Streets, and contains water spray showers, playgrounds, and handball courts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poseidon Playground : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/poseidon-playground/history|access-date=July 28, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Steeplechase Park#Current status|Steeplechase Park]], located along the beach between West 16th and West 19th Streets. It contains a public plaza with seating, as well as [[MCU Park]], a [[minor league baseball]] stadium.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/steeplechase-park|title=Steeplechase Park : NYC Parks|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|access-date=July 15, 2019}}</ref>
* Surf Playground, located on the south side of Surf Avenue between West 25th and West 27th Streets, just north of Poseidon Playground. It contains basketball courts, playgrounds, and water spray showers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Surf Playground Highlights|website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|date=May 15, 1923|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/surf-playground/history|access-date=July 28, 2018}}</ref>

=== Other attractions ===
The [[New York Aquarium]] opened in 1957 on the former site of the Dreamland amusement park.<ref name="NYParks-Aquarium-History" /> It is located on 602 Surf Avenue between West 5th and West 10th Streets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyaquarium.com/visitor-info/getting-here|title=Getting Here|date=January 2, 2019|publisher=[[New York Aquarium]]|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, the New York Aquarium consists of five exhibits: Aquatheater; Conservation Hall; Sea Cliffs; Sharks, Rays & Turtles; and Ocean Wonders: Sharks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyaquarium.com/exhibits|title=Exhibits|publisher=New York Aquarium|access-date=September 22, 2019}}</ref> The original [[Bathysphere]], a deep-sea submersible that made historic journeys underwater in the 1930s, is on display at the aquarium.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201808/history.cfm|title=This Month in Physics History|last=Poffenberger|first=Leah|date=August–September 2018|website=American Physical Society|access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>

Maimonides Park is located on the former site of Steeplechase Park. Opened in 2001 as KeySpan Park,<ref name="nyt20010626" /> it hosts the [[Brooklyn Cyclones]] minor league baseball team.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HIxPgnmtQlcC&pg=PA135|title=Brooklyn!, 3rd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to New York's Most Happening Borough|last1=Freudenheim|first1=E.|last2=Wiener|first2=A.|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-312-32331-8|page=135|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> In 2010, it was renamed after the [[Municipal Credit Union]] (MCU), the city's largest credit union, in an eleven-year naming rights deal which ended in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/6/33_06_sb_keyspan_is_dead.html|title=Lights Out at Keyspan Park as Naming Rights Deal Ends|last=Brown|first=Stephen|date=January 29, 2010|newspaper=[[The Brooklyn Paper]]|access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_brooklyn_cyclones_keyspan_park_renamed_mcu_park.html|title=Brooklyn Cyclones' KeySpan Park Renamed MCU Park|last1=Epstein|first1=Victor|date=February 4, 2010|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|access-date=February 4, 2010|last2=Yaniv|first2=Oren|location=New York|archive-date=February 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207013310/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_brooklyn_cyclones_keyspan_park_renamed_mcu_park.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2016, the [[Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island]] opened on the boardwalk to the west of Maimondies Park, hosting several live musical acts as well as other events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/03/14/coney-island-ampitheater.html|title=NY1 Exclusive: A Look at the New Coney Island Amphitheater|publisher=Ny1.com|date=March 14, 2016|access-date=September 17, 2016}}</ref> It was constructed at the location of the [[Childs Restaurants (Coney Island Boardwalk location)|Childs Restaurant]], which was originally constructed in 1923 and was renovated when the amphitheater was being constructed. The rooftop part of the restaurant reopened in July 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theconeyislandblog.com/?p=902|title=Updated: Construction Begins on Controversial Seaside Amphitheater|date=January 21, 2015|publisher=Theconeyislandblog.com|access-date=September 17, 2016}}</ref>

The nonprofit organization [[Coney Island USA]] also operates the Coney Island Museum, a collection of memorabilia that chronicles the history of the neighborhood. The museum opened in 1980, and is located at 1208 Surf Avenue near the intersection with West 12th Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thevillager.com/2014/06/coney-island-museum-returns-to-form/|title=Coney Island Museum returns to form|date=June 19, 2014|website=The Villager|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> It charges a $5 admission fee per adult.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coneyisland.com/programs/coney-island-museum|title=Coney Island USA|website=Coney Island Museum|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116001427/https://www.coneyisland.com/programs/coney-island-museum|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgo.com/museums-galleries/coney-island-museum|title=Coney Island Museum – Museums & Galleries|website=NYCgo.com|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> Another nonprofit founded in 2004, the Coney Island History Project, operates a space near the Wonder Wheel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nycgo.com/museums-galleries/coney-island-history-project2|title=Coney Island History Project – Museums & Galleries|website=NYCgo.com|access-date=July 9, 2019}}</ref>

=== Events ===
{{multiple image
|align=right
|direction=horizontal
|total_width=350
|image1=Nathan's Coney Island July 2007.jpg
|alt1=Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant on the Coney Island boardwalk
|caption1=[[Nathan's Famous]]
|image2=Freak bar.jpg
|alt2=The Freak Bar, a Coney Island bar with a Freakshow/Sideshow theme
|caption2=The Freak Bar
}}

Coney Island USA sponsors various seasonal acts every year. In April, the organization hosts the Noisefest and the Congress of Curious Peoples. This is followed in May or June by the [[Coney Island Mermaid Parade]], which takes place on Surf Avenue and the boardwalk, and features [[Float (parade)|floats]] and performances. During August or September, Coney Island USA produces the Beard and Moustache Competition; Tattoo and Motorcycle Festival; and Coney Island Film Festival. The organization then hosts the Creepshow at the Freakshow, an interactive [[Halloween]]-themed event, in October.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coneyisland.com/programs/special-events|title=Special Events|website=Coney Island USA|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227060710/https://www.coneyisland.com/programs/special-events|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The annual Cosme 5K Charity Run/Walk, supported by the Coney Island Sports Foundation, takes place on the Riegelmann Boardwalk toward the end of June.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/29/sports_brooklyn_sportsrunnerspou07142008.html|title=Runners pound the b'walk – Cosme 5K Charity Run brings athletes to the shore|date=January 1, 2019|website=Brooklyn Paper|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>

A major national [[volleyball]] tournament hosted by the [[Association of Volleyball Professionals]] (AVP), which is typically hosted on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] of the U.S., was held in Coney Island starting in 2006. The AVP built a 4,000-seat stadium and twelve outer courts next to the boardwalk for the event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coney Island on the Ball – Beach volleyball is hitting New York ... & the boardwalk is the place to be|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/coney-island-ball-beach-volleyball-hitting-new-york-boardwalk-place-article-1.634345|website=New York Daily News|date=August 16, 2006 |access-date=January 20, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/nyregion/thecity/on-a-gritty-shore-california-dreaming.html|title=On a Gritty Shore, California Dreaming|last=Mooney|first=Jake|date=February 12, 2006|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> When AVP tournaments resumed in Brooklyn in 2015, they were hosted at [[Brooklyn Bridge Park]] instead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/38/30/dtg-park-vs-coney-volleyball-2015-07-24-bk.html|title=Beach bums! Pro volleyball shuns Coney, serves up in Brooklyn Bridge Park|date=July 24, 2015|website=Brooklyn Paper|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>

In 2009, the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]] performed in Coney Island for the first time since 1956. The event, titled ''The Coney Island Boom-A-Ring'', was housed in tents that were located between the boardwalk and Surf Avenue.<ref name="bp20100604">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/23/sg_circus_2010_bk.html|title=Ringling's 'Illuscination' opens on June 17|last=Glass|first=Claire|date=June 4, 2010|website=Brooklyn Paper|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> The following year, they returned to the same location with ''The Coney Island Illuscination''.<ref name="bp20100604" />

In May 2015, Thor Equities unveiled Coney Art Walls, a public art wall project curated by former [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles]], director [[Jeffrey Deitch]] and Thor CEO Joe Sitt. Located at 3050 Stillwell Avenue, the project featured work from more than 30 artists.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chong|first=Jinwoo|date=August 7, 2015|title=Coney Island Becomes Coney Art Walls, an All-Day Outdoor Museum of Street Art in NYC|url=https://untappedcities.com/2015/08/07/coney-island-becomes-coney-art-walls-an-all-day-outdoor-museum-of-street-art-in-nyc/|access-date=October 7, 2020|website=Untapped New York}}</ref> The exhibition started being held annually through at least 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/coney-art-walls-brooklyn-jeffrey-deitch-lee-quinones/|title=Coney Art Walls Returns to Brooklyn on May 25|last=Hubert|first=Craig|date=May 24, 2018|website=Brownstoner|access-date=February 26, 2019}}</ref>
{{Clear}}
{{wide image|Coney Island panorama (June 2016) 2.jpg|1500px|3={{center|Panorama of Coney Island waterfront as seen from the pier in June 2016}}}}

== Demographics ==
[[File:W15 CI volunteers arrive Sandy jeh.jpg|thumb|Volunteers arrive to clear the boardwalk after [[Hurricane Sandy]].]]
Based on data from the [[2010 United States census]], the combined population of Coney Island and Sea Gate was 31,965, a decrease of 2,302 (6.7%) from the 34,267 counted in [[2000 United States census|2000]]. Covering an area of {{convert|851.49|acres}}, the neighborhood had a population density of {{convert|37.5|PD/acre|PD/sqmi PD/sqkm}}.<ref>[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p5_nta.pdf Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010], Population Division – [[New York City]] Department of City Planning, February 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2016.</ref>

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 32.2% (10,307) [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 30.9% (9,880) [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 8.7% (2,793) [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.2% (78) [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.0% (4) [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.2% (67) from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.5% (467) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 26.2% (8,369) of the population.<ref name="PLP3A">[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p3a_nta.pdf Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin – New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010], Population Division – [[New York City Department of City Planning]], March 29, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2016.</ref> 82% of the population were [[high school]] graduates and 40% had a [[bachelor's degree]] or higher.<ref name="PLP3A" /><ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|2}}

The entirety of Community Board 13 had 106,459 inhabitants as of [[New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene|NYC Health]]'s 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 80.4 years.<ref name="CHP2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-bk13.pdf|title=Coney Island (Including Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Gravesend, Homecrest, Sea Gate and West Brighton)|year=2018|website=nyc.gov|publisher=NYC Health|access-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref>{{Rp|2, 20}} This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/community-health-assessment-plan.pdf|title=2016–2018 Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan: Take Care New York 2020|year=2016|website=[[government of New York City|nyc.gov]]|publisher=[[New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene]]|access-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref>{{Rp|53 (PDF p. 84)}} Most inhabitants are adults, with 25% between the ages of 25–44, 27% between 45 and 64, and 22% who are at least 65 years old. The ratio of young and college-aged residents was lower, at 19% and 8%, respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|2}} Coney Island's elderly population, as a share of the area's total population, is higher than in other New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":14" />{{rp|6}}

As of 2016, the median [[household income]] in Community District 13 was $39,213.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census profile: NYC-Brooklyn Community District 13—Brighton Beach & Coney Island PUMA, NY|website=Census Reporter|date=July 22, 2018|url=https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3604018-nyc-brooklyn-community-district-13-brighton-beach-coney-island-puma-ny|access-date=July 22, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723122521/https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3604018-nyc-brooklyn-community-district-13-brighton-beach-coney-island-puma-ny/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, an estimated 24% of Coney Island residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (11%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 55% in Coney Island, slightly higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation, {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, Coney Island is not considered to be [[gentrification|gentrifying]].<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|7}}

According to the 2020 census data from [[New York City Department of City Planning]], there were between 20,000 and 29,999 White residents, 10,000 to 19,999 Black residents, 5,000 to 9,999 Hispanic residents, and less than 5000 Asian residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/planning-level/nyc-population/census2020/dcp_2020-census-briefing-booklet-1.pdf|title=Key Population & Housing Characteristics; 2020 Census Results for New York City|publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]]|date=August 2021|access-date=November 7, 2021|pages=21, 25, 29, 33}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Map: Race and ethnicity across the US | publisher=CNN | date=August 14, 2021 | url=https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/us/census-race-ethnicity-map/ | access-date=November 7, 2021}}</ref>

==Political representation==
Politically, Coney Island is in [[New York's 8th congressional district]].<ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012c/CD_map_rep_08.pdf Congressional District 8], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved May 5, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012c/CD_nyc.pdf New York City Congressional Districts], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved May 5, 2017.</ref> It is also in the [[New York State Senate]]'s 23rd district,<ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012s/SD_map_rep_23.pdf Senate District 23], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved May 5, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012s/SD_nyc.pdf 2012 Senate District Maps: New York City], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved November 17, 2018.</ref> the [[New York State Assembly]]'s 46th district,<ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012a/AD_map_rep_046.pdf Assembly District 46], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved May 5, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012a/AD_nyc.pdf 2012 Assembly District Maps: New York City], New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. Retrieved November 17, 2018.</ref> and the [[New York City Council]]'s 47th district.<ref>[http://www.nyc.gov/html/dc/downloads/pdf/brooklyn.pdf Current City Council Districts for Kings County], [[New York City]]. Retrieved May 5, 2017.</ref>

== Police and crime ==
Coney Island is patrolled by the [[New York City Police Department]] (NYPD)'s 60th Precinct, located at 2950 West Eighth Street.<ref name="NYPD 60th Precinct">{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/60th-precinct.page|title=NYPD – 60th Precinct|website=nyc.gov|publisher=[[New York City Police Department]]|access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref> Transit District 34 is located at 1243 Surf Avenue, within the [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway)|Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue]] subway station.<ref>{{cite web|title=Transit District 34 – NYPD|website=Welcome to NYC.gov|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/transit-housing/transit-district-34.page|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>

The 60th Precinct ranked 34th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. Between 1993 and 2010, major crimes decreased by 72%, including a 76% decrease in robberies, 71% decrease in felony assaults, and 67% decrease in shootings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/crime-safety-report/brooklyn/coney-island/|title=Coney Island – DNAinfo.com Crime and Safety Report|website=dnainfo.com|access-date=October 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723034345/https://www.dnainfo.com/crime-safety-report/brooklyn/coney-island/|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, with a non-fatal assault rate of 51 per 100,000 people, Coney Island's rate of [[violent crime]]s per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 168 per 100,000 people is about the same as that of the city as a whole.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|8}} The 60th Precinct has a substantially lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 77.5% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported five murders, 16 rapes, 179 robberies, 373 felony assaults, 159 burglaries, 527 grand larcenies, and 121 grand larcenies auto in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-060pct.pdf|title=60th Precinct CompStat Report|website=nyc.gov|publisher=[[New York City Police Department]]|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>

== Fire safety ==
[[File:CI Engine 318 jeh.jpg|thumb|Engine Co. 318/Ladder Co. 166]]
The [[New York City Fire Department]] (FDNY) operates two [[firehouse]]s in the area.<ref name="fdny-locs">{{Cite FDNY locations}}</ref> Engine Company 318/Ladder Company 166 is located at 2510 Neptune Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Engine Company 318/Ladder Company 166|website=FDNYtrucks.com|url=http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/brooklyn/e318.htm|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> It contains the [[Coney Island Fire Station Pumping Station]], [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooklyn|listed]] on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3186|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration:Coney Island Fire Station Pumping Station|date=August 1980|access-date=February 20, 2011|author1=Michael S. May|author2=Carol Clark|author3=Anne B. Covell|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019064615/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3186|archive-date=October 19, 2012|url-status=dead}} ''See also:'' {{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3293|title=Accompanying four photos|access-date=March 9, 2019|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084421/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=3293|url-status=dead}}</ref> Engine Company 245/Ladder Company 161/Battalion 43 is located at 2929 West 8th Street.<ref>{{cite web|title=Engine Company 245/Ladder Company 161/Battalion 43|website=FDNYtrucks.com|url=http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/brooklyn/e245.htm|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref> In addition, [[New York City Fire Department Bureau of EMS|FDNY EMS]] Station 43 is on the grounds of Coney Island Hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Coney_Island_Hospital_Environmental_Assessment.pdf|title=Environmental Assessment HHC Coney Island Hospital New Critical Services Structure New York City, Kings County, New York|date=July 2015|website=[[NYC Health + Hospitals|nychealthandhospitals.org]]|publisher=[[United States Department of Homeland Security]]; [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]]|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref>

== Health ==
[[File:CIH @ Shore & Ocean Pkwys jeh.jpg|thumb|left|Coney Island Hospital]]
{{As of|2018}}, [[preterm birth]]s and births to teenage mothers are slightly more common in Coney Island than in other places citywide. In Coney Island, there were 95 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide) and 20.2 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide), slightly higher than in the median neighborhood.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|11}} Coney Island has a high population of residents who are [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|uninsured]], or who receive healthcare through [[Medicaid]].<ref name=":14">[http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/dsrip/pps_applications/docs/maimonides_medical_center/3.8_maimonides_cna.pdf New York City Health Provider Partnership Brooklyn Community Needs Assessment: Final Report], [[New York Academy of Medicine]] (October 3, 2014).</ref> In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 14%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|14}}

The concentration of [[particulates|fine particulate matter]], the deadliest type of [[air pollution|air pollutant]], in Coney Island is {{convert|0.0067|mg/m3|oz/ft3}}, lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|9}} Nineteen percent of Coney Island residents are [[Smoking|smokers]], which is higher the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|13}} In Coney Island, 28% of residents are [[Obesity|obese]], 15% are [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetic]], and 31% have [[hypertension|high blood pressure]]—higher than the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28%, respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|16}} In addition, 18% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|12}}

Ninety-two percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 70% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|13}} For every supermarket in Coney Island, there are 21 [[convenience store|bodegas]].<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|10}} The primary hospital in the neighborhood is [[Coney Island Hospital]].<ref name=":14" />{{rp|6}} In addition, [[NYC Health + Hospitals]]' Ida G. Israel Community Health Center is on Surf Avenue, and there is a substance-abuse treatment center on West 16th Street.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brendlen |first=Kirstyn |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Coney Island community health clinic destroyed by Superstorm Sandy to re-open in new, permanent location |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/coney-island-community-health-clinic-reopen/ |access-date=June 19, 2025 |website=Brooklyn Paper}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=DeJesus |first=Jaime |date=February 26, 2025 |title=Ribbon cut at new health center |url=https://brooklynreporter.com/2025/02/ribbon-cut-at-new-health-center/ |access-date=June 19, 2025 |website=The Brooklyn Home Reporter}}</ref>

== Post offices and ZIP Codes ==
Coney Island's primary [[ZIP Code]] is 11224,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zipmap.net/zips/11224.htm|title=Zip Code 11224, Brooklyn, New York Zip Code Boundary Map (NY)|website=United States Zip Code Boundary Map (USA)|access-date=March 10, 2019|archive-date=October 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028062511/http://zipmap.net/zips/11224.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> though small portions located east of West 1st Street and [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]] are located in ZIP Code 11235.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zipmap.net/zips/11235.htm|title=Zip Code 11235, Brooklyn, New York Zip Code Boundary Map (NY)|website=United States Zip Code Boundary Map (USA)|access-date=March 10, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330022330/https://www.zipmap.net/zips/11235.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are two [[United States Post Office]] branches in Coney Island. The Coney Island Station is located at 2727 Mermaid Avenue,<ref>{{cite web|title=USPS Locations|url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?&radius=20&locationType=po&locationTypeQ=po&locationID=1358925|access-date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> and the Neptune Station is located at 532 Neptune Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=USPS Locations|url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?&radius=20&locationType=po&locationTypeQ=po&locationID=374586|access-date=June 20, 2018}}</ref>

== Education ==
Coney Island generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city {{as of|2018|lc=y}}. While 45% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 18% have less than a high school education and 37% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher.<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|6}} The percentage of Coney Island students excelling in math has been increasing, though reading achievement has declined; math achievement rose from 53 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2011, but reading achievement fell from 57 to 55 percent within the same time period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/BK_13_11.pdf|title=Coney Island – BK 13|year=2011|publisher=[[Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy]]|access-date=October 5, 2016}}</ref>

Coney Island's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is higher than the rest of New York City. In Coney Island, 26% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per [[school year]], compared to the citywide average of 20% of students.<ref name=":21" />{{Rp|24 (PDF p. 55)}}<ref name="CHP2018" />{{Rp|7}}

=== Elementary, middle, and high schools ===
[[File:Abraham Lincoln High School.jpg|thumb|Abraham Lincoln High School]]
Coney Island is served by the [[New York City Department of Education]], and students in the neighborhood are automatically "zoned" into the nearest public schools. The zoned schools for the main portion of Coney Island include:
* PS 90 Edna Cohen School (grades K-5)<ref>{{cite web | last=Tartar | first=Andre | title=Teacher Exodus at Coney Island School Where Principal Banned God Bless the USA | website=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] | date=August 19, 2012 | url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/08/teacher-exodus-at-troubled-coney-island-school.html | access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K090|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>
* PS 100 Coney Island School (grades K-5)<ref>{{cite web|title=P.S. 100 The Coney Island School|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K100|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723183722/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K100|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nyt20061119">{{cite news|last=Scharfenberg|first=David|title=Safety Belts On? Renewal Has Its Hazards|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 19, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/realestate/19livi.html|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref>
* PS 188 The Michael E. Berdy School (grades K-4)<ref>{{cite web|title=P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K188|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171616/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K188|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* PS/IS 288 The Shirley Tanyhill School (grades PK-8)<ref>{{cite web|title=P.S. 288 The Shirley Tanyhill|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K288|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171618/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K288|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* IS 303 Herbert S. Eisenberg (grades 6–8)<ref name="nyt20061119" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Hughes|first=C. J.|title=Waterfront Living That Doesn't Break the Bank|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 30, 2010|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/realestate/02living.html|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=I.S. 303 Herbert S. Eisenberg|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K303|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723183922/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K303|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* PS 329 (grades PK-5)<ref>{{cite web|title=P.S. 329 Surfside|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K329|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171618/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K329|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

IS 239, the [[Mark Twain School for the Gifted and Talented]] (6–8), is a [[magnet school]] for gifted students, and it accepts students from around the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted & Talented|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K239|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723192235/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K239|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2006, David Scharfenberg of ''[[The New York Times]]'' said, "Coney Island's elementary schools are a mixed lot, with only some exceeding citywide averages on the state's testing regimen."<ref name="nyt20061119" />

All New York City high school students can go to any high school in the city. There are two public high schools in Coney Island: [[Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn)|Abraham Lincoln High School]]<ref name="nyt20061119" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Abraham Lincoln High School|website=New York City Department of Education|url=https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K410|access-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726171620/https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/K410|archive-date=July 26, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lucadamo |first=Kathleen |date=2006-05-03 |title=Teachers Boycott HS To Protest An Arrest |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2006/05/03/teachers-boycott-hs-to-protest-an-arrest/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=New York Daily News}}</ref>

=== Public library ===
[[File:CI BPL 1901 Mermaid Av jeh.jpg|thumb|Coney Island library branch]]
The [[Brooklyn Public Library]] (BPL)'s Coney Island branch is located at 1901 Mermaid Avenue, near the intersection with West 19th Street. It opened in 1911 as an unmanned deposit station. Ten years later, it moved to the former ''[[Coney Island Times]]'' offices and became fully staffed. In 1954 another branch was built. According to BPL's website, the library was referred to as "the first-ever library built on stilts over the Atlantic Ocean." The branch was rebuilt in 2013 after being damaged in Hurricane Sandy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/coney-island/history|title=Coney Island Library|date=August 19, 2011|website=Brooklyn Public Library|access-date=February 21, 2019}}</ref>

== Transportation ==
[[File:Coney IslandStillwell.JPG|thumb|left|[[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station]]]]
Coney Island is served by four [[New York City Subway]] stations.<ref>{{NYCS const|map}}</ref><ref name="MTA-NameofNeighborhood-2015">{{cite NYCS map|neighborhood|Coney Island}}</ref> The [[Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station]], the terminal of the {{NYCS trains|Stillwell}}, is one of the largest elevated rapid transit stations in the world, with eight tracks serving four platforms.<ref name="MTA-Stillwell-2014" /> The entire station, built in 1917–1920 as a replacement for the former surface-level [[Culver Depot]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thethirdrail.net./0305/stillwell4.html|title=The New BMT Coney Island Terminal|last=Matus|first=Paul|date=May 2003|website=thethirdrail.net|page=4|access-date=August 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172251/http://thethirdrail.net/0305/stillwell4.html|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> was rebuilt in 2001–2004.<ref name="nyt20050528" /><ref name="MTA-Stillwell-2014">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2014/05/20/stillwell-terminal-remains-sparkling-jewel-decade-after-full-rehabilitation|title=Stillwell Terminal Remains a Sparkling Jewel a Decade after Full Rehabilitation|date=May 20, 2014|website=mta.info|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=August 15, 2016|archive-date=December 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201101739/https://www.mta.info/news/2014/05/20/stillwell-terminal-remains-sparkling-jewel-decade-after-full-rehabilitation|url-status=dead}}</ref> The other subway stations within Coney Island are {{stn|West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium}}, served by the {{NYCS trains|West 8th|time=nolink}}; {{stn|Neptune Avenue}}, served by the {{NYCS trains|Culver IND south|time=nolink}}; and {{stn|Ocean Parkway}}, served by the {{NYCS trains|Brighton south|time=nolink}}.<ref name="MTA-NameofNeighborhood-2015" />

A [[Bus station|bus terminal]] beneath the Stillwell Avenue station serves the {{NYC bus link|B68}} to [[Prospect Park (Brooklyn)|Prospect Park]], the {{NYC bus link|B74}} to Sea Gate, the {{NYC bus link|B64}} to [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge]], and the {{NYC bus link|B82}} to [[Canarsie, Brooklyn|Canarsie]] and [[Starrett City, Brooklyn|Starrett City]]. Additionally, the {{NYC bus link|B36}} runs from Sea Gate to [[Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn|Sheepshead Bay]]. The {{NYC bus link|B1}} and {{NYC bus link|B4}} both make stops on the neighborhood's border with [[Brighton Beach, Brooklyn|Brighton Beach]] along [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]], between Shore Parkway, Neptune and Brighton Beach Avenues. The {{NYC bus link|X28|X38|prose=y}} provide express bus service to Manhattan.<ref>{{cite NYC bus map|B}}</ref>

The three main west–east arteries in the neighborhood are (from north to south) Neptune Avenue, Mermaid Avenue, and Surf Avenue. Neptune Avenue becomes Emmons Avenue at Sheepshead Bay, while Surf Avenue becomes [[Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn)|Ocean Parkway]] and then runs north toward Prospect Park. The north–south cross streets in Coney Island are numbered, with "West" prepended to their numbers. The street numbers run from West 1st Street at Coney Island's eastern border to West 37th Street at the western border, adjacent to Sea Gate.<ref>{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Coney+Island,+Brooklyn,+NY/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c24448979d75cb:0x54745adc3c8f1179?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk652izLDcAhVhiOAKHVPCClYQ8gEI9QEwFg|title=Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY|access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>

Coney Island contains several [[Cycling in New York City|bicycle paths]]. The Ocean Parkway bicycle path terminates in the neighborhood, while the [[Shore Parkway]] bike path (part of the [[Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway]]) runs east along [[Jamaica Bay]] and west and north along New York Harbor. On-street bike lanes are marked on Neptune Avenue and other streets in Coney Island. In addition, the Riegelmann Boardwalk is open to cyclists during the daytime, though bicycling hours are restricted during the summer months.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bicycle Maps|website=NYC.gov|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bikemap-2018.pdf|publisher=[[New York City Department of Transportation]]|year=2018|access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>

In 2019, [[NYC Ferry]] announced that the western part of Coney Island would be served by the Coney Island ferry route.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-ferry-routes-1.25782023|title=NYC Ferry is adding 2 new routes|date=January 10, 2019|website=am New York|access-date=January 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/1/10/18177078/nyc-ferry-transportation-staten-island-coney-island|title=NYC Ferry will launch service to Staten Island, Coney Island|last=Plitt|first=Amy|date=January 10, 2019|website=Curbed NY|access-date=January 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ferry.nyc/nycferry-2020-2021-service-route-expansion/|title=2020–2021 Expansion|website=New York City Ferry Service|access-date=January 11, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111232547/https://www.ferry.nyc/nycferry-2020-2021-service-route-expansion/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The implementation of the Coney Island route was delayed indefinitely in 2022.<ref name="The City 2022">{{cite web | title=City Pauses Planned Coney Island NYC Ferry Stop for Deeper Analysis | website=The City | date=May 27, 2022 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/5/26/23143780/nyc-ferry-coney-island-suspended | access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=City halts plans for Coney Island Creek ferry | website=Crain's New York Business | date=June 1, 2022 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/new-york-city-halts-plans-coney-island-creek-ferry | access-date=June 13, 2022}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
{{Main|Coney Island in popular culture}}
Coney Island has been featured in many novels, films, television shows, cartoons, and theatrical plays.<ref name="Immerso2002">{{cite book|last=Immerso|first=Michael|title=Coney Island: the people's playground|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2002|edition=illustrated|isbn=978-0-8135-3138-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4POVzmwY9cC}}</ref>{{rp|176}}<ref name="Rabinovitz 2004">{{cite book|last=Rabinovitz|first=Lauren|title=American cinema's transitional era: audiences, institutions, practices|editor=Charlie Keil, Shelley Stamp|publisher=University of California Press|year=2004|edition=illustrated|chapter=The Coney Island Comedies|isbn=978-0-520-24027-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cB2MfzmdwYkC&pg=RA1-PA171}}</ref> This is linked to its iconic status as a vacation destination.<ref>{{cite book|last=Frank|first=R.J.|author2=Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art|author3=San Diego Museum of Art|author4=Brooklyn Museum|author5=McNay Art Museum|title=Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008|publisher=Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art|year=2015|isbn=978-0-300-18990-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pt22oQEACAAJ|access-date=February 28, 2019}}</ref> Various [[slapstick]] comedies and films have been set at Coney Island or allude to it. There have also been several television documentaries about the area's history.<ref name="Rabinovitz 2004" />{{rp|137–142}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Movie Shot at Coney Island List|website=Westland|date=July 10, 2006|url=https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/movielist.htm|access-date=February 28, 2019}}</ref>

==Notable people==
Notable current and former residents of Coney Island include:
{{Category see also|People from Coney Island}}
* [[Bud Abbott]] (1897–1974), comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo [[Abbott and Costello]]<ref>[https://walkoffame.com/bud-abbott/ Bud Abbott], [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "His parents worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus: his mother, Rae, was a bareback rider and his father, Harry, was an advance man. Abbott dropped out of school as a child and began working at Coney Island."</ref>
* [[Ken Auletta]] (born 1942), author, political columnist for the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' and media critic for ''[[The New Yorker]]''<ref>[[Maureen Dowd|Dowd, Maureen]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/style/ken-auletta-harvey-weinstein-biography.html "Ken Auletta Finally Wrote the Harvey Weinstein Story He Wanted to Tell"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 7, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "He noted that as a teenager growing up in Coney Island, 'I was not quite a juvenile delinquent but I walked around with my sleeves rolled up.'"</ref>
* [[Joe Bonomo (strongman)]] (1901–1978), weightlifter, strongman, film stunt performer and actor<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/01/archives/joe-bonomo-star-of-the-silent-films-began-as-stuntman.html "Joe Bonomo, Star of the Silent Films; Began as Stuntman"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 4, 1978. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Mr. Bonomo was born in the Coney Island. section of Brooklyn."</ref>
* [[Jerry Della Femina]] (born 1936), advertising executive and restaurateur<ref>Della Famina, Jerry. [https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/2439/ "30th Anniversary Issue / Jerry Della Femina: (M)Adman"], ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'', April 6, 1998. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "I came from a poor family in Coney Island. I learned to write by reading the ''Post''."</ref>
* [[Mary E. Dillon]] (1886–1983), businesswoman and president of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company<ref>Spellen, Suzanne. [https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-miss-dillons-gas-company-part-one/ "Walkabout: Miss Dillon's Gas Company"], Brownstoner, June 24, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Also in Brooklyn as the new century progressed, lived a young woman named Mary E. Dillon. Miss Dillon was a senior at Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush. She lived on Coney Island, and was the second oldest of twelve children."</ref>
* [[Harold Feinstein]] (1931–2015), photographer<ref>Fox, Killian. [https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/may/05/harold-feinstein-last-stop-coney-island-photography "Photographer Harold Feinstein, the unsung chronicler of Coney Island"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', May 5, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "It began with a great outpouring of images. At 15, Harold Feinstein borrowed his neighbour's Rolleiflex camera and started shooting scenes of everyday life on the streets and boardwalks of south Brooklyn. The year was 1946 and Coney Island, where Feinstein grew up, was still popular with New Yorkers, who flocked to its amusement parks and beaches in the summertime to let their hair down."</ref>
* [[Gene Feist]] (1923–2014), playwright, theater director and co-founder of the [[Roundabout Theater Company]]<ref>Weber, Bruce. [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/nyregion/gene-feist-founder-of-the-roundabout-theater-company-is-dead-at-91.html "Gene Feist, Founder of Roundabout Theater Company, Dies at 91"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 22, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Eugene Feist was born on Jan. 16, 1923, in Brooklyn and grew up in the rugged Coney Island neighborhood, where his father, Henry, who was called Hennie, owned a bar known as the Bucket of Blood and where young Gene was something of an outcast for his interest in books."</ref>
* [[Irving Feldman]] (born 1928), poet and professor of English<ref>[https://waywiser-press.com/irving-feldman/ Irving Feldman], The Waywiser Press, July 9, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Born in Coney Island, New York in 1928 and educated at the College of the City of New York and Columbia University, Irving Feldman taught at the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Lyon and Kenyon College before his appointment to SUNY at Buffalo in 1964 – from which he retired as Distinguished Professor of English in 2004."</ref>
* [[Sandra Feldman]] (1939–2005), educator and labor leader who served as president of the [[American Federation of Teachers]]<ref>Holley, Joe. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/09/20/teachers-union-chief-sandra-feldman/41d66eb3-88b1-4da2-89fe-a68d6ed64c15/ "Teachers Union Chief Sandra Feldman"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', September 20, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Sandra Feldman, 65, a tough and spirited former teacher and labor leader who went from an impoverished childhood in a Coney Island tenement to the presidency of the nation's second-largest teachers union, died of breast cancer Sept. 18 at her home in New York City."</ref>
* [[Nat Finkelstein]] (1933–2009), photographer and photojournalist<ref>[[William Grimes (journalist)|Grimes, William]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/arts/13finkelstein.html "Nat Finkelstein, 'Court Photographer' of Andy Warhol's Factory, Dies at 76"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 13, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Nathan Louis Finkelstein was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 16, 1933. He grew up in Coney Island and attended Stuyvesant High School."</ref>
* [[Debbie Goad]] (1954–2000), journalist and assistant editor of the magazine ''[[Answer Me!]]''<ref>Smith, RJ. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YG5YubNw1pgC&pg=PA102 "American Psycho"], ''[[Spin (magazine)]]'', January 1999. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Debbie Goad lived in Coney Island with her father and two uncles."</ref>
* [[Arlene Gottfried]] (1950–2017), street photographer who was known for recording the candid scenes of ordinary daily life<ref>Piepenbring, Dan. [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/arlene-gottfried-new-york-through-the-eyes-of-her-brother-gilbert-gottfried "Arlene Gottfried's New York, Through the Eyes of Her Brother Gilbert Gottfried"], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', April 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "The Gottfrieds were born in Coney Island-five years apart, with their sister Karen between them-where their father ran a hardware store."</ref>
* [[Gilbert Gottfried]] (1955–2022), stand-up comedian and actor, best known for his exaggerated shrill voice<ref>Bredderman, Will. [https://www.brooklynpaper.com/gilbert-gottfried-shows-his-range/ "Gilbert Gottfried shows his range"], ''Brooklyn Paper'', October 15, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Will Bredderman: So you're a Brooklyn native, right? Which neighborhood? Gilbert Gottfried: Coney Island, that was where I was born. Then we moved to Crown Heights, then Borough Park."</ref>
* [[Marty Greenbaum]] (1934–2020), painter, mixed media assemblage and book artist<ref>McCormack, Jeannie. [https://www.galleryand.studio/2021/01/03/remembering-artist-marty-greenbaum-1934-2020/ "Remembering Artist Marty Greenbaum (1934–2020)"], Gallery and Studio, January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "On reading Marty's narrative/bio we learn that he grew up in Coney Island where he worked summers in the Penny Arcades, and was inspired by the carnival atmosphere which he reflected in his work throughout his life."</ref>
* [[Pamela Harris (politician)|Pamela Harris]], politician who was a member of the [[New York State Assembly]] representing the 46th Assembly District from 2015 to 2018<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-brooklyn-assemblywoman-sentenced-prison-multiple-fraud-schemes-and-witness "Former Brooklyn Assemblywoman Sentenced to Prison for Multiple Fraud Schemes and Witness Tampering"], [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]], October 24, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Between 2012 and 2014, Harris defrauded FEMA out of nearly $25,000 in temporary relocation funds by falsely claiming that she had been forced out of her Coney Island residence because of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy."</ref>
* [[Marcus Illions]] ({{Circa|1871}}–1949), master carver of wooden carousel horses in the early 20th century, who was called "the Michelangelo of carousel carvers" by ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1949/08/14/93543943.html?zoom=16&pageNumber=68 "M.C. Illions Dies; Carousel Maker"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 14, 1949. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Marcus Charles Illions of 2836 West Eight Street, Coney Island, a wood carver and maker of carousels, died Thursday in Brooklyn Hospital, after a brief illness."</ref>
* [[Rena Kanokogi]] (1935–2009), judo expert<ref>Tracy, Thomas. [https://www.brooklynpaper.com/rena-kanokogi-judo-pioneer-dies-2/ "Rena Kanokogi, judo pioneer, dies"], ''Brooklyn Paper'', November 30, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Through it all, however, she never strayed too far from her Brooklyn roots. She ultimately left Coney Island, only to move into nearby Sheepshead Bay, friends recalled."</ref>
* [[Robert Kirsch]] (1922–1980), literary critic and author, who was the literary editor of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' for two decades<ref>Thackery, Ted Jr. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-obituary-for-rober/113255555/ "Robert Kirsch, ''Times'' Literary Editor for 23 Years, Dies in Santa Barbara"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', August 17, 1980. Retrieved January 1, 2024, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Kirsch was born Oct. 18, 1922, on the gaudy, surreal Brooklyn pleasure peninsula of Coney Island. And, in a sense, he never really left there. 'I ran away at 17', he said. 'But Coney Island didn't leave me.{{'"}}</ref>
* [[Stephon Marbury]] (born 1977), former professional basketball player<ref>[https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/a-kid-from-coney-island/umc.cmc.1cwashpaik1ysrwd9blvh57bo ''A Kid From Coney Island''], [[Apple TV (streaming service)|Apple TV]]. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Coney Island, New York is famous for a few things: Nathan's Hot Dogs, Spike Lee's ''He Got Game''. and a kid from the housing projects named Stephon Marbury."</ref>
* [[Pellegrino Morano]] (1877–unknown), head of a group of Neapolitan criminals with roots in the [[Camorra]]<ref>[https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/giosue-the-king-of-harlems-little-italy-gallucci-1865-1915/ "Giosue 'The King of (Harlem's) Little Italy' Gallucci, 1865–1915"], ''Harlem World'', July 11, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "The money for the hit was probably provided by Coney Island Camorra boss Pellegrino Morano in an effort to take over Gallucci's rackets."</ref>
* [[Nikita Nesterenko]] (born 2001), professional ice hockey center who currently plays for the [[San Diego Gulls]]<ref>[https://bceagles.com/news/2023/2/22/mens-hockey-nesterenko-named-hockey-east-player-of-the-week "Nesterenko Named Hockey East Player of the Week"], [[Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey]], February 22, 2023. "The Coney Island native has already established new career-highs in goals (10) and points (27) and is one assist away from setting a new career-best."</ref>
* [[Rhea Perlman]] (born 1948), actress<ref>Myers, Marc. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/poms-actress-rhea-perlman-on-her-wild-ride-from-coney-island-to-emmy-winner-11556635741 "'Poms' Actress Rhea Perlman on Her Wild Ride From Coney Island to Emmy Winner"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', April 30, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "When I tell most people I was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, their first reaction is awe."</ref>
* [[E. J. Perry (artist)|E. J. Perry]] (1880–1946), early-twentieth-century silhouette artist<ref>Washington, Eric K. [https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/ej-perry-african-american-silhouette-cutter-of-americas-leisure-circuit The Gotham Center for New York City History].[[The Gotham Center for New York City History]], December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Although ancient Lenape Indians once called it the 'land without shadows', Coney Island would perfectly suit one artist who made shadows his stock in trade. E.J. Perry was a king of keepsakes."</ref>
* [[Joe Rollino]] (1905–2010), weightlifter and strongman who dubbed himself the world's strongest man in the 1920s<ref>Fernandez, Manny; Schmidt, Michael S. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/nyregion/12ironman.html "At a Mighty 104, Gone While Still Going Strong"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "He later boxed under the name Kid Dundee, became a Coney Island performer, worked as a longshoreman, fought in World War II and had a bit part in ''On the Waterfront'' that never made the film, not necessarily in that order."</ref>
* [[Larry Rosenberg]] (born 1932), Buddhist teacher<ref>[https://www.awecosocial.com/mindfulness-room-design Mindfulness Room Design 2015 – present], awecosocial.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Larry Rosenberg, a renowned scholar mindfulness practice comes from Coney Island, Brooklyn."</ref>
* [[Jay Sexter]], educator who was the president of [[Mercy University|Mercy College]]<ref>[https://www.5tjt.com/touro-honors-retiring-officials/ "Touro Honors Retiring Officials"], ''[[Five Towns Jewish Times]]'', June 25, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Originally from Coney Island, Dr. Sexter said that he never planned to specialize in medical programs."</ref>
* [[Ayisha Siddiqa]] (born 1999), climate justice advocate<ref>[https://www.fossilfreeuniversity.org/faculty/ayisha-siddiqa Ayisha Siddiqa], Fossil Free University. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Ayisha Siddiqa Ayisha Siddiqa is a 21-year-old Pakistani Climate justice advocate living in Coney Island, NY, a coastal area highly prone to hurricanes and floods."</ref>
* [[Don Snyder]] (1934–2010), photographer and multimedia artist<ref>[https://www.amny.com/news/don-snyder-76-artistic-photog-shot-coney-leary/ "Don Snyder, 76, artistic photog shot Coney, Leary"], ''The Villager'', September 15, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Born in Brooklyn in 1934, Snyder began to photograph the raffish world of Coney Island as a teenager and attached himself to photographers whose work he admired."</ref>
* [[George C. Tilyou]] (1862–1914), entrepreneur and showman who founded [[Steeplechase Park]]<ref>[https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/hall-of-fame/george-c-tilyou George C. Tilyou; Founder of Steeplechase], Coney Island History Project. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Tilyou came with his parents to Coney Island in 1865 at the tender age of three. His father, Peter, opened a small wooden bathhouse and restaurant on the beach, and young George was soon selling bottles of souvenir sand to visitors."</ref>
* [[Burt Topper]] (1928–2007), film director and screenwriter best known for cult films<ref>[https://variety.com/2007/film/news/burt-topper-78-filmmaker-1117962505/ "Burt Topper, 78, filmmaker"], ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', April 4, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Born in Coney Island, NY, Topper moved to L.A. at the age of 8, and served in the Navy during WWII."</ref>
* [[Arthur Tress]] (born 1940), photographer known for his staged surrealism<ref>[https://www.sohophoto.com/2021/04/22/speaker-series-arthur-tress/ ▶️ Video: Arthur Tress Talks About Magic Realism, Wednesday, April 28, 2021], Soho Photo Gallery. Retrieved January 1, 2024. "Born in Brooklyn in 1940, Arthur Tress began his first camera work as a teen in the surreal neighborhood of Coney Island."</ref>

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* [[Rem Koolhaas]], ''[[Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan]]'' (Academy Editions, London, 1978; republished, The Monacelli Press, 1994&nbsp;– a large part of the book focuses on Coney Island amusement parks)
* John F. Kasson, ''Amusing The Million: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century'' (Hill and Wang, New York, 1978; Distributed in Canada by Douglas and McIntyre Ltd.)
* Charles Denson, ''Coney Island: Lost and Found'' (Ten Speed Press, 2002)
* [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/coney/ "''Coney Island''"] , a 1991 documentary film by [[Ric Burns]] for ''[[American Experience]]''
* {{Cite book|publisher=E. Leypoldt|location=New York|title=Percy's Pocket dictionary of Coney Island|author=Townsend Percy|date=1880|oclc=5926329|ol=6906857M|ref=none}}
* {{Cite book|publisher=Austin Publishing Co.|location=New York|title=The tourists companion and guide to Coney Island, Fort Hamilton, Bath Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway|author=J. Perkins Tracy|date=1887|ol=23411073M|ref=none}}
{{refend}}

=== Further reading ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* [http://www.heartofconeyisland.com/ The Comprehensive History of Coney Island] at Heart of Coney Island
* Coney Island [http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/histart.htm History Articles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801033827/https://www.westland.net/coneyisland/histart.htm |date=August 1, 2020 }}
* [https://indypendent.org/2005/06/bland-as-sand-developers-stalk-coney-island/ Bland as Sand: Developers Stalk Coney Island], The Indypendent
* [https://indypendent.org/2005/06/gritty-and-trashy-thats-why-i-love-it/ Gritty and Trashy... That's Why I Love It], The Indypendent{{void|Fabrickator|comment|alternate url: http://www.indypendent.org/?p=450 }}
* Bruce, Jeannette. [https://vault.si.com/vault/1967/08/28/where-the-fun-was "Where The Fun Was,"] ''Sports Illustrated'', August 28, 1967{{void|Fabrickator|comment|replaced archive url which only linked to first section of story: https://archive.today/20130102055107/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080222/index.htm}}
* [https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/ Coney Island History Project]
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Coney Island |volume=6 |page=897 |short=1}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage|Brooklyn/Coney Island and Brighton Beach}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Coney Island, Brooklyn}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpMN28gvQ4I Coney Island HD Footage Restoration Project]
* [https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/ Coney Island History Project – Oral History Archive of Coney Island]

{{Coney Island}}
{{Brooklyn}}
{{New York City Islands}}
{{Portal bar|New York (state)|New York City}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Coney Island| ]]
[[Category:Amusement parks in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Barrier islands of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Former islands of New York City]]
[[Category:Islands of Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Islands of New York City]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods in Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in New York (state)]]