Coney Island | |
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Neighborhood of Brooklyn | |
Coney Island beach, amusement parks, and high rises as seen from the pier in June 2016
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Location | |
Coordinates: 40°34′27.9″N 73°58′42.9″W / 40.574417°N 73.978583°WCoordinates: 40°34′27.9″N 73°58′42.9″W / 40.574417°N 73.978583°W | |
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 most of the creek was filled as part of 1930s land and highway development turning the island into a peninsula.