A to Z Challenge: My theme this year is NYC before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONEY ISLAND: All quiet on the Coney Island front. I took this photo about a year ago and so I imagine this is about how it looks right now, too. (It may also be how it’ll look this summer.) Any other summer, however, the insanity level here is off the charts. Prime people-watching. Our 14-year-old niece from California visited last summer and no first-time NYC trip for a teenager is complete without getting overstimulated by Coney Island. We even rode the Cyclone; a second and final time for me.
Both times, I had my eyes mostly closed. Coney Island is on the shores of the Atlantic and because I don’t like water, seeing that much ocean from atop the rollercoaster (85 feet) would induce an impressive panic attack. Even with a metal bar “holding you in,” your butt still levitates off the seat. It’s terrifying. Your body gets yanked from side-to-side, up and down, at 60 mph in places, so I’m fine never doing that again.
A notable fact: From August 18-22, 1977, nineteen-year-old Richard Rodriguez rode the coaster for 104 consecutive hours–nearly 2,400 rides. He took short bathroom breaks between rides, eating hot dogs and M&Ms and drinking shakes during the ride itself.
I do enjoy walking the boardwalk between the amusement park and beach that leads to Brighton Beach, the Russian and Eastern European neighborhood, which I’ll tell you more about when I get to the letter “P.”
CUOMO: It’s during a crisis, you find who your leaders truly are. If you need some reassurance, or just need to hear an intelligible, articulate, compassionate voice (even if you’re not in NY) listen to New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo’s daily press conferences. No matter which side of the line your political views fall, I urge you to listen to his daily briefings. Plus, his exchanges with his journalist brother, Chris, are quite entertaining.
A text from my mom in Colorado:
As I said, it’s in times like these that leaders emerge. Search “leaders during a crisis” and you will see a variety of articles written just over the last several weeks about past instances of forged leadership, namely, Franklin D. Roosevelt (“New Deal”), Winston Churchill (WWII), and John F. Kennedy (Cuban missile crisis).
If you have two minutes (you do–I mean, come on) check out this less-than-two-minute clip of Governor Cuomo speaking about the resiliency of New York.
And at the end of the day, my friends, even if it is a long day, and this is a long day, love wins. Always. And it will win again through this virus.
NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
