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8 Coney Island at War (1940–1945) IT WAS DURING THE YEARS leading up to the Second World War that a singularly controversial public figure, Robert Moses, began to exert an influence on the subsequent growth and development of New York. While many unhesitatingly blame him for the downfall of Coney Island, a more balanced analysis would suggest that his contributions were at worst benign, perhaps even a bit constructive . ROBERT MOSES AND CONEY ISLAND It was in his role as park commissioner of the City of New York that Moses proposed, in 1937, some serious alterations to Coney Island.1 Because the width of the beach between the boardwalk and high tide had shrunk to virtually nothing in an area between Stillwell Avenue and Ocean Parkway—high tide actually lapped under the boardwalk in certain places—Moses proposed rebuilding the jetties that sustained the beachfront, tearing down the boardwalk along this stretch, and rebuilding it 300 feet inland. In addition, Moses wanted to convert several acres of shabby amusement area directly behind the rebuilt section of the boardwalk into municipal parkland. As reported in the New York Times, Moses ‘‘wants to broaden beaches, improve traffic arteries and—perhaps most important—to supplant Boardwalk hot dog and apple-on-thestick shacks with long stretches of playgrounds, landscaping and modern bath houses.’’2 The proposal that Park Commissioner Moses advanced in 1937 was both comprehensive and expensive. The plan, which would have cost $16.1 million had it been implemented fully, called for improvements to the beachfront not merely in Coney Island, but CONEY ISLAND AT WAR (1940–1945) 251 also in Rockaway and at South Beach on Staten Island—facilities that were then under the control of Moses and his Department of Parks. Reaction to Moses’ proposal for Coney Island was very negative, and many jumped to the conclusion that this was merely the first step in turning Coney Island into a resort that more resembled Jones Beach than the Coney Island of old. ‘‘Let us confess to a certain pang at the thought of a tidy Coney Island,’’ commented the New York Times.3 Indeed, it was the belief that Moses wanted to replace all of the amusement areas of Coney Island with parks, playgrounds, parkways, and picnic grounds that led to the scaling back of his 1937 proposal two years later. (The idea of turning Coney Island into natural parklands, and plowing under, so to speak, the island’s less-than-natural legacy, was not new. As early as 1890, a bill had been filed in Albany that would have appropriated up to a half-million dollars to create a park adjacent to Norton’s Point. This proposal faced prompt opposition from Kings County political leaders— especially John Y. McKane, then the ‘‘boss’’ of Gravesend—and so nothing came of it. A subsequent plan to convert all of Coney Island into a large oceanfront park was proposed in 1899 by Bird S. Coler, the Brooklyn politician who also played a role in opposing the BRT’s doublefare policies on its lines to and from Coney Island. Coler’s park proposal likewise failed to gain acceptance.4 ) Moses’ diagnosis of Coney Island was that, in the past, ‘‘public authorities were actuated more by a desire to please the large property owners than to provide proper accommodations for the public.’’ Moses also believed that ‘‘any future plan for Coney Island must be based on the supposition that most of the summer patrons will come by rapid transit, that they will have comparatively little money to spend on mechanical amusements, and that more and more they will come for exercise and healthy outdoor activity.’’5 This was not exactly a new or radical appraisal. In the years after the First World War, as Coney Island welcomed larger and larger crowds each summer, the vast majority of visitors were interested in little more than a relaxing day at the beach, perhaps topped off with a frozen custard or a cold glass of root beer on the way home. Amusement parks and all the independent rides and attractions played an important role in Coney Island’s overall econ- 252 HOW WE GOT TO CONEY ISLAND omy, but the revenue they took in was always recognized as coming from a small percentage of the island’s visitors.6 In pointing out this seeming imbalance, Robert Moses said nothing that was not already part of Coney Island’s conventional wisdom. Although he certainly believed that...

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