Intro and the Built Environment

From The Peopling of New York City

Intro and the Built Environment History of Coney Island Demographics and Economy Recent News

1 Introduction
- 1.1 Location
2 Built Environment
- 2.1 Attractions
  - 2.1.1 Coney Island Fireworks
3 References

Introduction

Location

Coney Island is a peninsula in the southern edge of Brooklyn, NYC. It is connected to Brighton Beach to the east and Gravesend to the north. Its beach is the border with the Atlantic Ocean. Coney Island consists of about 19 blocks stretching from West 24th street to the New York Aquarium and from Mermaid Avenue to the Boardwalk.

Built Environment

Coney Island is made up primarily of a boardwalk and beach, two amusement parks, and a residential area. The residential area is located to the north and west of Coney Island, just beyond the New York Aquarium and Ocean Parkway. Ocean Parkway is a tree-lined path of 5 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. A significant part of the built environment is made up by the 3-mile long Boardwalk.

Attractions

Mermaid Parade 2007

Coney Island's two main theme parks are Astroland and Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. Astroland includes the famous wooden rollercoaster, Cyclone, as well as Top Spin, Thrill Ride, Water Flume, Pirate Ship, Scrambler, Bumper Cars, Dante's Inferno, Break Dancer, Astrotower, and Tilt-A-Whirl for adults^[1]. The Cyclone rollercoaster began operation on June 26, 1927. It was designed by Vernan Keenan and built by Harry Baker. The initial cost was $175,000. It travels at 60 miles per hour for duration of one minute and fifty seconds. It is unique because it has a steel track, but an entirely wooden structure. It is the most copied rollercoaster ever built, as there are seven copies of it across in the United States, Japan and Europe. The Cyclone became an official New York Landmark in 1988. ^[2]

Cyclone Rollercoaster Car

The Cyclone Rollercoaster: A New York City Landmark

Keyspan Park: Home of the Brooklyn Cyclones

Dante's Inferno Ride

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park consists of the Wonder Wheel^[3], The Spook-a-Rama, Bumper Cars, the Thunderbolt, and Supershot, as well as several rides for kids. The Wonder Wheel is the world’s tallest Ferris Wheel^[4], standing at 150 feet. It was built in 1920. It has a diameter of 140 feet, and seats 144 people at a time. It is another New York landmark, declared in 1989. The New York Aquarium, also known as the Aquarium for the Wildlife Conservation Society. It is located on Surf Avenue and West 8th Street. The aquarium features 10,000 living specimens including sharks, beluga whales, octopuses, penguins, electric eels, walruses and seals. At the aquarium, you can view marine life from underwater, in the Aquatheater for a performance, above ground in large pools, or in a 3D showroom called "Deep Sea 3D". Throughout the New York Aquarium, employees will educate visitors about how to conserve and prevent the extinction of certain species in the wild. ^[5]

Across from the boardwalk, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog, after Nathan Handwerker, is a legendary place to get French fries and hot dogs. It opened in 1916, but gained most of its popularity in the 1920’s when the Stillwell Avenue subway station opened and Nathan's benefited tremendously from its position directly across Surf Avenue. The existence of Nathan’s signified a change in Coney Island from sit-down restaurants, to on-the-go food. Every July 4th, Nathan’s holds an annual hot dog eating contest. ^[6]

Throughout the summer months, Coney Island’s 3-mile Boardwalk is occupied with people who are looking for exercise, or just a leisure stroll. Heading east, the boardwalk goes into Brighton Beach, nicknamed "Little Odessa" because of its large Russian immigrant population. Many small Russian cafes exist on this part of the boardwalk. The Coney Island Lighthouse is located at Norton Point, on the western tip of Brooklyn. It was completed in 1890. It is 75 feet tall, and has a white structure. From the top of the lighthouse, a red flashing light can be seen 24 hours a day, from 14 miles away. ^[7]