New York – Coney Island, Brooklyn

05 Jul 2010

New York – Coney Island, Brooklyn

Coney Island has an interesting history , and is one of the most unique places in America. Being from the West Coast , growing up taking trips to the Venice boardwalk you tend to believe there is no place on earth like Venice. Let me correct myself , there is no place on earth like Venice, Los Angeles… but visiting Coney Island can give you a clearer understanding of the energy Venice has. I went for the first time on The 4th of July, I needed to see a beach. There has never been a central manager or operating company for Coney Island, which seems to be be prime real estate for corprations looking to create an entertainment destination in Brooklyn. The parks and vendors are all individually operated, giving it an common man sort of appeal. The beaches are split as I was told by a native New Yorker, “in two sides, one side is Russian the other side,,,ehh, more Urban, ya know?” Right. So naturally, I started on the “urban” side, where there were thousands of children, mothers, families, aunties, boyfriends, gangs, weirdo sideshows, fried food stands, high-fructose corn syrup ,frozen beverage dispensaries, funnel cake ….way to much going on. There was literally a traffic jam of people on the boardwalk, some families opted to set up a blanket, radio, cooler, etc,, right on the boardwalk instead of just venturing 50 feet out onto the sand.

Also noticed an exceptional number of women walking around with pythons, mostly those lil cute lesbian chicks, and a couple huge butch girls. Is it me or is it ironic that lil lesbians are walking around with snakes around their neck. Okay, maybe it’s me. Then I ventured over to the Russian side where there was a much different tone, much more quiet. The boardwalk on this side was covered with restaurants that serve traditional Russian food and beverages. Nice, guess I’m getting old cause I felt more comfortable on the Russian side. Here are some flicks of the day…

The Wonder Wheel..