Unless you live under the proverbial boulder, or you just don’t give a shit about the ghetto, you must know that Coney Island’s Astroland theme park is slated for demolition after this summer season. Generations on top of generations of ghetto denizens have enjoyed this theme park since it’s inception in 19-whenever (I’m too lazy to Google right now, and face it who the fuck cares, this gotdamned amusement park is old as shit).
Coney Island is interesting because it’s attractions are barely above the level of a traveling carnival, and everything is operated by folks that seem as inbred as carnies can be. There is still the Cyclone. America’s oldest wooden rollercoaster, or some shit like that, and the Wonder Wheel, America’s first Ferris Wheel that hasn’t been demolished yet. Coney Island gives off the vibe that it has been around to long. Like when a magician becomes so old that he doesn’t care if you see how he does his tricks.
The Good Times Gang decided to spend a sunny weekend afternoon walking through Coney Island, actually we wanted an excuse to cop some chili cheese dogs from Nathan’s Famous. While we were there we rode on the bumper cars several times (El Dorado is the shit!), we looked at the freaks, we danced with a stilt lady and we reminisced on a part of New York City that won’t ever be the same again. And maybe that’s a good thing?
DP x Astroland
The Good Times Gang – CHOCOLATE SNOWFLAKE, THE JOHN, GENEVA JONES and DP
Buccaneer operator (the pic with him smiling was too blurry to post. but dude had the dental work of a pirate – three rotten teeth left in his mouth)
Bumper cars and random attractions. I was intrigued by the kids with their hair in prison platts,
What is the whole thing with Puerto Ricans and snakes?
DP with the stilt lady and later some Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME. Woo hooooo!
DP is a big ass prize
Goodbye Wonder Wheel, I barely even knew ye.
A true Brooklyn landmark. Bye Bye to the Cyclone.
And what will we do without Nathan’s?????The greatest hot dogs ever.
Do they still sell frogs legs? LOL
nice post Dallas. great pics. dance dance revolution extreme is some next level ish. are they sellin the arcade games?!?!?!???
damn, i need to take a trip out there. why do i feel that nyc is slowly losing its individuality?
its not just manhattan……the outer boroughs are next. even the bx is beginning to fall victim: have you been to “antique row” in the south bronx (or should i say sobro?)
I read about something like this in Freedomland, by the white-negro voyeur, Richard Price. A murder took, or something, place in a theme park, of the same name, and the description of the place was really, tough, for lack of a better word. Really tough.
A bit off-topic.
In the US, specifically the major urban cities, do the South Americans walk around in overly big white t-shirts sporting, slightly homoerotic, imagery of Jesus. Its becoming quite the odd trend, odd due to the fact Jesus appears magnificently feminine, almost caricature-like, but you don’t laugh because its usually weighty dudes wearing these shirts.
looks like if you want to get your ghetto amusements on your gonna have trek up to Playland (and risk your life at the same time).
BTW…even though I was born and bred in BK, Playland gets my vote for being the most gully.
Lion….Playland IS Gully.
Actually the cyclone is a landmark, and it cannot be demolished. So that will be the only thing left standing.
dammit. me and eff might have to make a trip that way just to pay our respects. i bid thee adieu astroland.
“the white-negro voyeur, Richard Price”
As a fan of Price’s from The Wanderers and Clockers (the book is much better than the movie), I’m very curious about this comment.
Exclusionary vs voyeuristic… are white people just damned if they do and damned if they don’t?
Anyway, cool post on Coney Island. I’m definitely going to make a trip out there with my son sometime soon. Especially since my parents live right nearby.
where will ghetto girls from all over brooklyn go to be hollered at by dudes en masse?
piece by piece motherfuckers are turning bklyn into some weak ass manhattan overflow bullshit.
Good shit. Pound for pound, the Cyclone is the WORLD’S greates roller-coaster.
What’s up with Puerto Ricans and every effin thing they do?
Damn … this is sad. Astroland was awesome; gotta rock that $13 POP bracelet. I totally threw up all over the dude behind me on the Centurion once. While it was spinning. Hilarious – but only because the dude didn’t kill me.
The ill thing is even though I’ve never been to Coney I know about that spot. I feel for you, I remember going to the last city fair here…when you go to jury duty they have the posters for every year in frames around the wall.
You should have a DallasPenn.com field trip or something. Get a yellow school bus and roll up on Dewey Albert Place.
Daymn, it looks you had a blast at the park. How much did it cost to get in? Usually for some reason, places like this charge top dollar b/c of rent or some bullshit, and food prices are even crazier. To bad I live 3,000+ miles away.
Word up on A.C with that DP dot com field trip! I am down!
that buccaneer operator looks like a bizarro billy bob thornton…doesn’t he?
I’ll drive the cheese bus to Coney…but will anyone have the (skee)balls to actually swim in the water?
What’s my man Phil gonna do?
This is Phil