Coney Island

Coney Island
Neighborhood of Brooklyn
Coney Island beach, amusement parks, and high rises as seen from the pier in June 2016
Coney Island Show map of New York City Coney Island Show map of New York Coney Island Show map of the US Location
Coordinates: 40°34′27.9″N 73°58′42.9″W / 40.574417°N 73.978583°W / 40.574417; -73.978583Coordinates: 40°34′27.9″N 73°58′42.9″W / 40.574417°N 73.978583°W / 40.574417; -73.978583
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Brooklyn
Settled	17th century
Founded by	Dutch settlers
Area
• Total	0.6910000 sq mi (1.7896818 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	24,711
• Density	36,000/sq mi (14,000/km2)
Time zone	Eastern Time Zone (UTC– 05:00)
ZIP code	11224
Telephone area code	718, 347, 929, and 917

Coney Island is a peninsular residential neighborhood, beach, and leisure/entertainment destination on the Coney Island Channel, which is part of the Lower Bay in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The site was formerly an outer barrier island but became partially connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill. The residential portion of the peninsula is a community of 60,000 people in its western part, with Sea Gate to its west, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, the Lower Bay to the south, and Gravesend to the north.

Coney Island is well known as the site of amusement parks and a seaside resort. The attractions reached a historical peak during the first half of the 20th century, declining in popularity after World War II and years of neglect. In recent years, the area has seen the opening of MCU Park stadium and has become home to the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team, as well as the opening of a new amusement park among several adjacent ones.

Coney Island is the westernmost part of the barrier islands of Long Island (referred to as the outer barrier islands), and is about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide lying between Sheepshead Bay to the east and Lower New York Bay to the west. At its highest it is 7 feet (2.1 m) above sea level. It was formerly an island that was separated from the main part of Brooklyn by Coney Island Creek, a partial tidal mudflat, but a large portion of the creek was filled as part of 1920s and 30s land and highway development, turning the island into a peninsula.