“If a storm happened tomorrow, we’d still get flooded”

"During the early evening of Monday, October 29, Hurricane Sandy reached Coney Island. With her, she brought a 14-foot storm surge, which drove the waves of the Atlantic Ocean over the sands of Coney Island Beach, over the wooden planks of the boardwalk, through the rides, games and attractions of the amusement parks, and onto Surf Avenue. By 7 PM, the streets were desolate. Just before 8 o’clock, power went out. At 9, seawater was covering cars. [...] Flood water had forced vehicles onto the sidewalks and, in a few cases, crushed them against trees and utility polls. If a window or windshield hadn’t been broken, condensation from water pooled inside the car collected on the glass, creating the impression of past lives. Many times, the owners had scribbled insurance information on the front or back windshield, which, in an odd way, made the vehicles resemble tombstones." (x)

"While the lights have turned on in lower Manhattan and limited subway access has resumed in parts of Brooklyn, here in Coney Island, the recovery has hardly begun. A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the future of the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone roller coaster, the freak show, the arcades and the people. For now, rescue workers around the city are focused on saving lives, but the government has already begun taking stock of property damage. The people of Coney Island are worried that this odd, out-of-the-way, and often overlooked place will again be forgotten. Like everyone who values the history of this American icon, they believe these buildings and rides are worth far more than the old materials that they’re made of."(x)

"Flood-prevention infrastructure in the People’s Playground remains far from completion seven years after Superstorm Sandy devastated Coney Island, and what safeguards do exist won’t protect against a Sandy-sized storm — leaving residents vulnerable to flooding for years to come, according to advocates."(x)