Gladys and Jaime Leon rest on a rock under the illuminated Parachute Jump at Brooklyn’s Coney Island in New York. Coney Island is a storied place, known for Nathan’s hot dogs, old-fashioned amusement park rides and a gritty beach. But after sundown it has a different feel. With the crowds and tourists mostly gone, locals come out to enjoy balmy summer evenings as the heat of the day subsides.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Nathan’s Famous hot dog restaurant is reflected in a rain dampened Coney Island street in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Coney Island is a storied place, known for Nathan’s hot dogs, old-fashioned amusement park rides and a gritty beach.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Families enjoy an evening on the beach at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Coney Island is a storied place, known for Nathan’s hot dogs, old-fashioned amusement park rides and a gritty beach. But after sundown it has a different feel. With the crowds and tourists mostly gone, locals come out to enjoy balmy summer evenings as the heat of the day subsides.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Trinity Ford enjoys the view from a vacant lifeguard stand at Coney Island beach in New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Women enjoy a quiet conversation on Steeplechase Pier after sunset in New York’s Coney Island.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Aspiring rapper Feeva Montana, right, hangs out after sundown on the Coney Island beach with his friends, Spank, Bull and Ek in New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
A couple embraces on Steeplechase Pier at Coney Island in New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
A family carries stuffed animals that were won at a Coney Island arcade in New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Swimmers take advantage of cooler evening temperatures to bathe at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
A couple cools their feet in the Coney Island surf.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
New York City police officers settle down an irate woman on the Coney Island boardwalk.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Parents sit nearby while their children ride a carousel at Coney Island.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
A family is bemused by a Mickey Mouse character while strolling the Coney Island boardwalk.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
A family heads to the beach for a quiet evening swim at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Luis Orlando Zavala, seated at the table, leads his friends in a game of dominoes under a Puerto Rican flag at Coney Island in New York. “We get to know each other because (our Spanish) language and heritage bring us together,” says Zavala.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
People enjoy a late evening swim on New York’s Coney Island beach.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
Edward Erdogan, left, prepares his fishing rods with friends Alp Usta, center, and Alex Durmaz on the Steeplechase Pier in New York’s Coney Island. “You don’t have to catch anything, you just come to get away from the stress of the city,” Erdogan says.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
In this photo taken from Deno’s Wonder Wheel, the Coney Island rides and amusement park are illuminated after sundown.
Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
NEW YORK – Coney Island is a storied place, known for Nathan’s hot dogs, old-fashioned amusement park rides and a gritty beach at the end of four subway lines in Brooklyn, New York.
But Coney Island after sundown has a different feel. The crowds and tourists are mostly gone. Colored lights silhouette the rides above the darkened seascape. And the locals – mostly working class, many of them immigrants – come out to enjoy balmy summer evenings as the heat of the day subsides.
New York’s extraordinary ethnic diversity is part of the scene: Muslim women in long-sleeved abayas and headscarves; boom boxes blasting Latin salsa music while couples dance and groups of men play dominoes; Turkish immigrants fishing with poles off Steeplechase Pier, while Chinese immigrants lower crab pots into the dark waters.
Along the pier, lovers canoodle in the shadows. On the beach, kids climb the empty lifeguard stands in the dark and young men practice rap songs. Children clutch stuffed animals won in arcade games while Mickey Mouse and Spiderman characters try to pose with passers-by for photos on the boardwalk. The vista is framed by the distinct lit-up shapes of the Wonder Wheel near one end and the Parachute Jump near the other.
Laughter, music and screams from the rides drift on the evening breeze as waves break on the beach with a rhythmic whoosh. Summer’s winding down. Labor Day is fast approaching. Soon these evening scenes will be just a memory.
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