Post: #1

Coney Island is one of my favorite places in NYC. If you have never been there, I recommend a trip if you are in NYC. Coney Island reminds me of a smaller version of Venice Beach in California.


Is Coney nice? NO. Its horrible. It's dirty, the boardwalk is falling apart, and the water is disgusting.


But it is still very historical, it is officially a beach, and its really easy to get to. In the summer I will take the train straight to coney island from Manhattan after work, and do a 5:45pm run on the boardwalk.


Coney Island is full of crazy characters, especially by Ruby's and the handball courts, but I think it is relatively safe. In the summer Coney Island is PACKED with police.


Can you get laid at Coney Island? NO. Very hard. The bars are only open to maybe 1am, or at least they die out, and there are ZERO hotels. Coney is good from 10am to midnight, and only for a date or to hang out.


The boardwalk is around 2 miles long. It can be divided into 3 parts. The ghetto to the west (which I like because nobody uses the beach), the crowded middle near the train (SUPER packed in the summer and the dirtiest by far), and the Russian section out to the East (nobody speaks English).


So where to go in Coney? Like I said, there are MANY trains that stop in Coney, and the train station is actually pretty cool.

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The only bar that I like in Coney Island is called Peggy Oneils. "Peggy's" is actually facing the street and not the beach, but its in prime location next to MCU Park. MCU Park is the stadium they built for minor league baseball and concerts. Last summer they had some DJ's playing there, and Peggy's was PACKED with young chicks.

Peggy's has a decent outside drinking area, and its also surprisingly big inside as well. Its' a weird mix of shady Coney Island characters, hells angels, hipsters, and people just going in for a beer. Its is also PRIME viewing area for the Mermaid Parade in JUNE, and gets PACKED. Also super cheap.


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The other major bar is Ruby's. Ruby's in on the boardwalk facing the beach, near the train station, and usually pretty crowded. I don't like Ruby's because they get too many of the homeless/missing teeth crowd, but some people swear by it. It it also close to Nathan's on the beach.

You will see people drinking outside of Ruby's year round without their shirts on. The Russians pretty much swim year round in Coney Island anyway. I jumped in twice after running in January.

This is probably the most crowded part of Coney Island, and also the part that I try to avoid. In the summertime you can hardly find a place to sit in the sand, the the water is full of diapers and used condoms.


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I usually drive and park my car on West 23rd. Usually a lot of parking spots, and walking distance to the parachute drop.


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Overall, Coney Island is dirty but pretty cool. It's a good "date" spot, but not much of a pickup area. I do a lot of my summer running in Coney, and I will go to the beach when I don't feel like sitting in 2 hours of Jersey traffic.


Mandatory date spots:

The Cyclone:

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The Cyclone is actually pretty kick ass. I think it is around $8 a ride, and is surprisingly fast for a 100 year old wooden piece of crap. This is a MANDATORY if you come to Coney, along with the "wonder wheel" Ferris Wheel at night.


So if you are in NYC, i recommend that you hit up Coney. Avoid the HORRIBLE aquarium (no fish), avoid the beach in front of Nathan's (tuberculosis), and check out the parachute and ride the Cyclone. MCU park is always having either baseball games or concerts, and Mermaid Parade is the "mardi gras" of Brooklyn on a smaller scale.


I will add some more data this summer, I took all of of these pictures today after running.


Power out...

Post: #2

While you are out that way you might as well hit up Brighton Beach and check out some Russian spots.

Post: #3

Will do. I ran to the end of Brighton today, but I didn't have time to stop and shoot some pics.

Post: #4

The beach itself is quite nice considering it is actually in NYC itself. Never actually went into the water there so can't comment. TB, condoms, diapers? Jeez, you don't make it sound very appealing.

Also, have a look at the lifeguards. Not really Baywatch style, but a few years ago when I was there there were a few cute girls walking around with their faded orange t-shirts and shorts. Even met up with one later in the city. I don't buy that New Yorker's are cold, unfriendly, unapproachable etc. If anything I found the opposite.

Post: #5

lol Coney island is pretty ghetto. I use to patrol there in the summer. The Russians speak English, most were born here or came when young. The only ones who don't speak it is the old women often.

Post: #6

It's ghetto but fun. I jump into the water anywhere except the 3-4 blocks in front of Nathans. In the summer that place is insanely packed with tons of garbage floating around in the water....

Best part is that it is a 15 minute drive from my house, and I always find parking. Driving out to Jersey or Long Island can be a bitch in the summer..