About Coney Island
Coney Island is where New York goes when it wants sand between its toes. The subway reaches Stillwell Avenue station and, a little farther on, the Riegelmann Boardwalk begins, a 1923 boardwalk facing the sea. Along the way are Luna Park, the Wonder Wheel, a Ferris wheel from 1920, and the Cyclone roller coaster, both city landmarks.
This is where Nathan Handwerker began selling hot dogs in 1916, the origin of Nathan's Famous, which holds an eating contest every summer. The neighborhood also has the New York Aquarium. The mood is big-city beach: boom boxes, the smell of fried food and people from every borough sharing the same strip of sand.
