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Before this visit, The Grangers have been preparing their Cambridge Exam. They have studied Present Continuous.
Coney Island is a peninsular neighbourhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
The neighbourhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to the north and includes the subsection of Sea Gate on its west.
More broadly, Coney Island or sometimes for clarity the Coney Island peninsula consists of Coney Island proper, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. This was formerly the westernmost of the Outer Barrier islands on the southern shore of Long Island, but in the early 20th century it became a peninsula, connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill.
The origin of Coney Island's name is disputed, but the area was originally part of the colonial town of Gravesend. By the mid-19th century it had become a seaside resort, and by the late 19th century, amusement parks had also been built at the location.
The attractions reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th century. However, they declined in popularity after World War II and, following years of neglect, several structures were torn down.
Various redevelopment projects were proposed for Coney Island in the 1970s through the 2000s, though most of these were not carried out. The area was revitalized with the opening of MCU Park in 2001 and several amusement rides starting in the 2010s.
Coney Island had around 32,000 residents as of the 2010 United States Census. The neighbourhood is ethnically diverse, and the neighbourhood's poverty rate of 27% is slightly higher than that of the city as a whole.
The original Native American inhabitants of the region, the Lenape, called this area Narrioch, possibly meaning land without shadows or always in light in reference to its sunlit south-facing beaches. A second possible meaning is point or corner of land.
The island was originally several smaller historical islands, each being given a name by Dutch settlers, with the westernmost sand spit or point being given named Conyne Eylandt in early-17th-century Dutch maps, starting with the 1639 Manatus Map.
More information: Coney Island History
Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European explorer to sight the island of Narrioch during his expeditions to the area in 1527 and 1529. He was subsequently followed by Henry Hudson. Anthony Janszoon van Salee was the first New Netherlands settler to acquire land adjacent to Coney Island, in 1639.
The Native American population in the area dwindled as the Dutch settlement grew and the entire southern tier of present-day Brooklyn, from Gowanus Creek to Coney Island to Gerritsen Creek, was purchased in 1645 from the Native Americans in exchange for goods. The goods were not recorded in the deed, but later accounts mention a gun, a blanket, and a kettle.
Between about 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States, attracting several million visitors per year. Its development as an amusement area was concurrent with the erection of urban amusement parks elsewhere in the United States, which changed amusement from a passive to an active concept.
Coney Island has two amusement parks, Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, as well as several rides that are not incorporated into either amusement park. These are owned and managed by several different companies and operate independently of each other.
Coney Island also has several other visitor attractions such as skeeball and ball tossing, as well as a sideshow, that contains shooting, throwing, and tossing skills. The area hosts renowned events as well.
Coney Island's amusement area is one of a few in the United States that is not mostly owned by any one entity.
There is a broad public sand beach that starts at Sea Gate at West 37th Street, through the central Coney Island area and Brighton Beach, to the beginning of the community of Manhattan Beach, a distance of approximately 4.3 km.
The beach is continuous and is served for its entire length by the broad Riegelmann Boardwalk. Numerous amusements, as well as the aquarium and a variety of food shops and arcades, are directly accessible from the landward side of the boardwalk.
The boardwalk in Manhattan Beach, located within Manhattan Beach Park, is not connected with the Riegelmann Boardwalk.
More information: Ultimate History Project
and I saw a magician doing a rope trick
on the boardwalk. I was fascinated.
I guess that's how it started.
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