I have nothing to do with this event and I am not going to be able to make it, but I have had some of the best times in my life at Coney Island.  The first time I went with this girl who I had a crush on for years and we rode the Cyclone together and she told me she wanted to kiss me and I went to Lit for the first time and I danced which I never do and I finally kissed her and it was one of the best days of my life.  The next time I went I saw Kobayashi break the record for hot dog eating on the 4th of July and got one of the worst sun burns of my life.  I went with my girlfriend at the time Zoe and we took photos and rode the Wonder Wheel for the first time and it was surprisingly terrifying.  We saw the 10-1 Side Show and ate cotton candy and Nathan’s Hot Dogs.  And then the last time I went I got the Gaskets a gig playing the hot dog eating contest and they played in front of 50,000 people, got written up on Dead Spin and we got to watch Joey Chestnut break Kobayashi’s record and bring home the Mustard Belt to the US.  We got to hang out with all the eaters and watch 62 year old Rich Lefevre continue to eat hot dogs after the competition because he was still hungry.

Amazing moments.  Great days of my life.  Recently there has been plans to develop Coney Island and one of two things could happen.  Coney Island as an amusement park could cease to exist and condos and things could be built, or they could carry out the city’s proposal for a redevelopment of the theme park.  The new design is amazing.  Anyway, this proposal needs your support.  From the Save Coney Island Myspace page:

The City of New York recently revealed its exciting proposal for the rezoning and redevelopment of Coney Island. The heart of the plan safeguards Coney Island’s Amusement District by declaring it Parkland, ensuring that Coney Island remains a spectacular Amusement Park for centuries to come. The proposal protects our national treasure rich in history, culture, arts and entertainment, and eliminates the threat of transforming Coney Island into another development of luxury high rise condominiums. However, this proposal will only get passed if the community shows that they want Coney Island’s legendary Amusement legacy to be preserved and protected in perpetuity. Hence, a fabulous group of Coney Island gliteratti have banded together to plan this wild spectacle of an event, demonstrating support for the City and this aspect of its plan, and to celebrate this incredible and historical opportunity to Save Coney Island!! 

So… come out to their event.  It is at Southpaw in Brooklyn this Saturday. It starts at 8pm and you can get tickets here.  For more info and a sweet Coney Island jam check out the Save Coney Island site.

Anyway, this event is giving me the chance to post some of the photos I took the first time I ever went to Coney Island.  For more photos, click here.

Comments (0)