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Please add profiles of people who were born, lived or died in (or were notable for their ties to) Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the 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 to the north and includes the subsection of 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 a peninsula, connected to the rest of Long Island by 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 parks 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. 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 2010 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 District 13, and its primary ZIP Code is 11224. It is patrolled by the 60th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. Fire services are provided by the New York City Fire Department's Engine 245/Ladder 161/Battalion 43 and Engine 318/Ladder 166. 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.
Notable people with ties to Coney Island, Brooklyn, from Wikipedia:
- Bud Abbott (1897-1974), comedian, actor and producer; he was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello
- Ken Auletta (born 1942), author, political columnist for the New York Daily News and media critic for The New Yorker
- Joe Bonomo (strongman) (1901-1978), weightlifter, strongman, film stunt performer and actor
- Delilah Cotto, actress, dancer and model
- Thomas J. Cox (1876-1930), politician and hotel owner
- Jerry Della Femina (born 1936), advertising executive and restaurateur
- Mary E. Dillon (1886-1983), businesswoman and president of Brooklyn Borough Gas Company
- Harold Feinstein (1931-2015), photographer
- Gene Feist (1923-2014), playwright, theater director and co-founder of the Roundabout Theater Company
- Irving Feldman (born 1928), poet and professor of English
- Sandra Feldman (1939-2005), educator and labor leader who served as president of the American Federation of Teachers
- Nat Finkelstein (1933-2009), photographer and photojournalist
- Debbie Goad (1954-2000), journalist and assistant editor of the magazine Answer Me!
- Arlene Gottfried (1950-2017), street photographer who was known for recording the candid scenes of ordinary daily life
- Gilbert Gottfried (1955-2022), stand-up comedian and actor, best known for his exaggerated shrill voice
- Marty Greenbaum (1934-2020), painter, mixed media assemblage and book artist
- Pamela Harris, politician who was a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 46th Assembly District from 2015 to 2018
- Marcus Illions (c. 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
- Rena Kanokogi (1935-2009), judo expert
- Robert Kirsch (1922-1980), literary critic and author, who was the literary editor of The Los Angeles Times for two decades
- Stephon Marbury (born 1977), former professional basketball player
- Earl-Jean McCrea (born 1942), singer
- Pellegrino Morano (1877-unknown), head of a group of Neapolitan criminals with roots in the Camorra
- Nikita Nesterenko (born 2001), professional ice hockey center who currently plays for the San Diego Gulls
- Rhea Perlman (born 1948), actress
- E. J. Perry (1880-1946), early-twentieth-century silhouette artist
- Joe Rollino (1905-2010), weightlifter and strongman who dubbed himself the world's strongest man in the 1920s
- Larry Rosenberg (born 1932), Buddhist teacher
- Jay Sexter, educator who was the president of Mercy College
- Ayisha Siddiqa (born 1999), climate justice advocate
- Don Snyder (1934-2010), photographer and multimedia artist
- George C. Tilyou (1862-1914), entrepreneur and showman who founded Steeplechase Park
- Burt Topper (1928-2007), film director and screenwriter best known for cult films
- Arthur Tress (born 1940), photographer known for his staged surrealism