With its roller coasters, annual hottest-eater hot dog contest, and crowd iconic to the city’s diversity, Coney Island is New York’s most famous beach.
But the pandemic has considerably reduced this year the usual effervescence of its long walk with old-fashioned charm.
In 150 years of existence, never has the district, located at the southwestern tip of Brooklyn, gone through such a difficult period, which raises fears for its future.
“It’s horrible, it’s depressing,” Dennis Vourderis, 61, co-owner with his brother of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, all attractions of which are closed, told AFP.
The year 2020 was shaping up to be a good year for his company, he said, with the 100th anniversary of his most prestigious merry-go-round, a 45-meter high Ferris wheel.
But with the containment and the disappearance of most tourists, the Ferris wheel is at a standstill this season, for the first time since 1920. And the Vourderis brothers have had to suspend an expansion project, in which they had already spent $ 12 million.
“Normally, our revenues are in the millions of dollars. This year, it will be zero. We have a bad night, that’s for sure,” laments Dennis Vourderis.
A little further on the boardwalk that runs along the sea, Ruby’s restaurant, open since 1934, also looks grim.
“We make 75% less figure than normal, excluding pandemic”, says its owner, Michael Sarrel. “We won’t earn enough to pay the rent this season. In fact, we are seriously considering selling.”
– “People’s playground” –
Coney Island, often referred to as “the people’s playground”, became a place of entertainment in the 1880s.
Normally, some seven million people flock there each year, to sunbathe, bathe or simply stroll on the promenade, ice cream, cotton candy or a cone of fries in hand.
“There are people of all kinds, who blend together effortlessly and show their zest for life,” says Lola Star, owner of a clothing store on the promenade. “It’s magic, and it’s very important for the city”.
The pandemic came about when she was in conflict with the owner of the walls over the amount of rent.
Lola Star – Dianna Carlin of her real name – claims to be the victim of a desire for gentrification of the neighborhood. She fears that the pandemic will sign the death warrant for the store she has run for 20 years.
“This is the most difficult episode of my life. I’m fighting to keep the store from going dark,” she said.
Coney Island, after declining between the 1970s and 1990s, like many New York neighborhoods, has experienced a revival since the early 2000s.
But its revitalization also led to the disappearance of small family stores in favor of more chic brands, threatening the popular spirit of the place.
In 2009, New York City Hall, then headed by Michael Bloomberg, even bought nearly three hectares of land from a developer who threatened to evict tenants to turn the place into a Las Vegas-style resort with apartments. luxury.
The city leased the land to an Italian amusement park company, Zamperla, allowing it to set the rents for Lola Star’s store and a few others.
But according to the shopkeeper, the company is now trying to increase its rent by 500%.
Alessandro Zamperla, its chairman, assured AFP that the requested increase is “far” from reaching this amount, even though he stressed that the rent she had paid so far was “significantly below the market”.
– “Maintain the charm” –
One thing seems clear: the pandemic has weakened many businesses and government aid is not enough to make up for the shortfall, according to Alexandra Silversmith, director of the Alliance for Coney Island, an association of neighborhood merchants.
Asked by AFP, a spokesperson for the town hall said the city “was working with partners” to “maintain the charm” of the place.
Coney Island has already weathered other crises, such as Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed shops and sanded attractions in October 2012.
But according to several owners, the pandemic is even worse, between financial losses and uncertainty about the possibilities of reopening.
After having been the city most affected by the Covid-19, part of New York’s economy has returned, with severe distancing instructions, difficult to apply on a merry-go-round.
In the meantime, at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, employees are busy repainting the attractions, and Dennis Vourderis is trying to stay positive.
“We’ll just have to wait until next year to celebrate the 100th anniversary,” he says.
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