Guest Post: Elise Laura Feinstein

By Elise Laura Feinstein

My grandfather Abe Feinstein grew up in Bedford-Stuveysant and used to go to Coney Island as a teenager with his friends, and took his dates to the amusement park and he remember the Parachute Jump very fondly. As Abe settled down and got married and started a family, they lived on Ocean Avenue and Newkirk. Having the need for a bigger apartment, my grandma Florence and my grandpa Abe decided to move to Luna Park co-op in 1962. My grandma’s childhood friend heard of apartments available and they jumped at the chance to live in Coney Island. Having taken pictures of Coney Island since moving to Luna Park he has been documenting Coney Island from 1962 to present. My grandpa remember Coney Island from back in the day from his youth, Feinstein has seen Coney Island go through many changes from the good days, through the bad times, and now the re birth representing its bright new future.

As I watched my grandpa Abe Feinstein document and captured the moments of Coney Island, I always admired looking at his pictures and wanted to do the same. I attended Edward R. Murrow high school and took Black and white photography class and I enjoyed taking pictures and decided to pursue my dream in photography. When I enrolled in Kingsborough Community College I decided to major in Photography and as one of my photo essays, it happened to be that I chose to photograph the changes/rebirth of Coney island, which included Applebees, Grimaldi’s, Showing the construction of the Thunderbolt site, the Cyclone and Nathans. Now I am capturing each moment of Coney Island as Abe Feinstein’s granddaughter the third generation Feinstein and is following in his footsteps.

I was always very fascinated with Coney Island’s History and reading about what it was like in the 1920s/1930s. Even though i wasn’t born in that era it is history that lives on forever and I like to capture Coney Island’s rebirth and to show the world how I see Coney Island through my lens. I enjoy going for walks on the Riegelmann Boardwalk, going to the beach, seeing all the smiles on the people and having a good time.