Coney Beach Pleasure Park

Location	Porthcawl, Wales
Owner	Patrick Evans jr.
Opened	1920
Operating season	Easter to end October annually
Rides
Total	20+ attractions
Roller coasters	2
Water rides	0

Coney Beach Pleasure Park is a small amusement park in Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan, United Kingdom, in operation since 1920. Throughout its history, the park's period of operation is from Easter weekend of each year up until the final weekend of October. Originally built to entertain American troops returning from World War I the park was named as a tribute to the famous New York amusement park on Coney Island.

History[link]

Early Days[link]

Constructed on the town's old ballast tip, the park's roots date back to April 1920, when a Figure Eight wooden roller coaster was relocated from West Glamorgan and initially operated from an old World War I aircraft hangar. This particular attraction continued to operate until July 1981, when it was dropped as part of an attempt to modernise the look of the park for contemporary audiences of the 1980s. Other attractions in the early days included a bandstand on the town green nearby, an outdoor and indoor skating rink, three cinemas, a Pierrot stage, and donkey and pony rides on the adjacent beach.

Another notable ride, the Water Chute (similar to the now defunct Vikingar at Pleasure Beach Blackpool (then named Blackpool Pleasure Beach), opened in 1932 and operated until 1995. This particular attraction was unique and it dominated the skyline nearest the beach.

In September 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, the park was temporarily closed for several years as the 15th battalion of the Welsh Regiment was based at the Coney Beach site; later on, the Belgian Brigade's armoured car division were also billeted there until the unit left Porthcawl in 1942.

Normal service was resumed in April 1946 after World War II came to an end.

Commercial peak[link]

Porthcawl had already been a popular holiday destination for locals in South Wales for many years, and the park attained modest popularity throughout the second half of the 1940s as the UK recovered from the after-effects of World War II. However, it was in the 1950s that the park experienced its first boom in popularity; events such as boxing matches, firework displays and aerial acrobat shows organised by the Royal Air Force drew in crowds of hundreds from all over Wales, and, as transport links improved further following the extension of the M4 motorway into South Wales in the 1960s and 1970s, Porthcawl experienced a dramatic rise in tourists visiting the area from all over the UK, and the park was one of the town's leading attractions. Further events, such as open air markets, circuses, and professional darts and snooker tournaments/exhibitions were staged. By the late 1980s, thousands of people visited the park from all over the world as more road and rail improvements in South Wales saw easier access from Cardiff Wales Airport.

The 1990s, however, saw a downturn in the park's fortunes. The Water Chute was closed in 1995 (but not demolished until 2000), mainly due to an accident where a gantry fell onto the track, which had occurred due to the high winds in April 1994 and caused a number of cars to be derailed, killing a young boy in the process; the stigma of the accident saw the numbers of people who used the ride to rapidly decline hence the demolition. This accident was the second in a chain of nine high profile incidents from 1994 onwards that led to repeated negative publicity for the park, in turn causing the number of visitors to drop sharply by 1998.

Decline[link]

Despite the number of visitors steadily falling over the course of the 1990s, the park still continued to operate, and in 1999/2000 it's well-publicised "New Millennium" and 80th Anniversary celebrations saw a brief uplift in the visitors to the park, as did it's 85th Anniversary events in 2005; by close of business in October 2006 the park reportedly enjoyed its largest annual number of visitors since 1994. However, both resurgences in popularity proved short-lived, and the visiting figures never came close to reaching the heights of the late 1980s again.

By January 2007, following months of speculation, reports began appearing in the local press suggesting that the park would shortly be closed down permanently and demolished. Nevertheless, the park opened for business as usual at Easter 2007, and still continues to operate, celebrating its 90th birthday in 2010.

Notable attractions[link]

• Nessi - A small family sized roller coaster
• Happy Gater - A small Wisdom Rides powered coaster
• Beach Party - A KMG Afterburner.
• Funhouse (although between 1992 and 1995 the Funhouse building was used as a branch of Q-Zar).
• Motion simulator
• Ghost Train
• Sizzler - A twister
• Carousel
• Fantasia
• Ski Jump

The park site is adjacent to a bar named the "Hi-Tide" and a nightclub called the "Harbour Lights". A Wimpy franchise is also located near the side exit of the park site. A bar named 'Elite Fish Bar', first opened in 1961, was also situated near the Trecco Bay entrance for many years, although this closed in 2003. A branch of the Italian chain Sidoli's now operates in its place.

Incidents/controversy[link]

Coney Beach had a reasonable record of safety between its opening in 1920 and its commercial heyday between the 1950s and 1980s, when it often attracted several thousand visitors per week in the summer months.

However, despite the size of the Pleasure Park being quite small, in the latter stages of its operation from 1994 onwards, Coney Beach has been the scene of several serious and, in one case, fatal incidents:

• 1994 - A 14-year-old girl fractured three ribs and injured her lungs when she was thrown 40 feet out of a brand new £300,000 ride at the park. Three other people were injured in the incident and were treated for stomach, neck and leg injuries on the Top Flip ride, on its first day in service just hours after launch.^[1] The incident occurred only hours after the ride had been tested. The ride was immediately dismantled.
• 1994 - A 9-year-old boy died in an incident on the sites Water Chute, less than six weeks after the aforementioned accident on the Top Flip ride. Due to poor weather conditions, a gantry fell onto the track causing several boats to derail.^[2] It was also revealed in the aftermath that there had been an accident on this ride a year prior to this one where three passengers were injured when their boat left the tracks and fell nearly 6 ft, but this had not been reported because it had been caused by drunken passengers deliberately shifting their weight and causing the boat to go off course.
• 1994 - Two months after the accident on the Top Flip ride, and less than two weeks after the fatal incident on the Water Chute, the park again received negative publicity when the 'Blizzard' roller-coaster overshot on its exit run, injuring three passengers and leaving several more severely shaken. Unlike the previous two incidents in 1994, this accident was caused by human error, as the ride attendant was not paying attention and forgot to put the brakes on when the ride was supposed to have stopped. The employee was subsequently dismissed from the park. The Blizzard, in operation since the late 1980s, was eventually withdrawn in 2004 amongst reports that the speed of the roller-coaster comparable with size of the ride was causing many riders to experience shaking to the head.
• 1998 - A tourist reported there being fragments of raw meat and a rusty nail in her Slush Puppy drink, although this was never officially confirmed to be true.
• 2000 - A 17-year-old girl suffered a fractured skull when a big bolt fell out of the ‘Skymaster’ ride and hit her head as she walked past.^[3]
• 2002 - The park suffered a severe blaze, the cause of which was suspicious.^[4]
• 2004 - A sex offender who had been ordered to stay away from children by a court, got a job at the theme park just 2 weeks later.^[5] When this was reported in the local press, he was immediately dismissed.
• 2006 - Two police officers were injured when several young troublemakers turned aggressive when ejected from the park.^[6] However, few similar incidents have been reported since.
• 2007 - The body of one of several young adults who died during a spate of suicides in the Bridgend area was found in a vacant warehouse at the park.^[7]

Many visitors and critics from local and national press complained in the 2000s that the park did not properly maintain or care for its older rides, instead focusing solely on its more new additions, compromising the safety of users. Additionally, the rides ‘Megablitz’ and ‘Nessi’ were regularly reported in the local press to create very sharp impacts on the rider and to be prone to shaking the rider's head rather vigorously throughout the duration of the ride’. However, no serious incidents resulting from maintenance problems on any of the rides occurred since the 'Skymaster' accident in 2000.

References[link]

1. ^ News Report about the incident on the brand new ride
2. ^ News Report mentioning the fatal log flume incident
3. ^ News Report about Fractured Skull victim
4. ^ Article about blaze at park
5. ^ News Report about Sex Offender working at park
6. ^ Article about assaulted police men
7. ^ News article about Bridgend Suicides

External links[link]

• Coney Beach at RCDB
• Coney Beach Official website

Coordinates: 51°28′47″N 3°41′48″W / 51.4797°N 3.6967°W / 51.4797; -3.6967

Howard Winstone
Statistics
Real name	Howard Winstone
Rated at	Featherweight
Nationality	Welsh[1]
Born	15 April 1939 Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Died	30 September 2000 Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	67
Wins	61
Wins by KO	27
Losses	6
Draws	0
No contests	0

Howard Winstone, MBE (15 April, 1939 – 30 September, 2000) was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff

Boxing style[link]

In his early amateur days Winstone was very much a two-fisted fighter, but as a teenager, whilst working in a local toy factory, he lost the tips of three fingers on his right hand in an accident. As a result he lost much of the punching power in his right hand and so had to change his style to rely much more on a straight left.

Amateur career[link]

Winstone won 83 of his 86 amateur fights, and in 1958 he was the ABA bantamweight champion.^[1]

Representing Wales at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Winstone won the gold medal at bantamweight.^[1] Winstone won the first of his three BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year awards the same year (1958) – winning his second in 1963 and his third in 1967.^[2]

Professional career[link]

He turned professional in 1959 and was managed by former European welterweight champion, Eddie Thomas.

Winstone made his professional debut in February 1959 at Wembley Stadium, London, when he beat Billy Graydon on points over six rounds. He then proceeded to win his first 24 fights, at which point he was considered ready for a shot at the British featherweight title.

In May 1961 he fought Terry Spinks the holder of the British featherweight title at the Empire Pool, Wembley. He out-boxed Spinks, forcing him to retire after ten rounds, and so claimed the British title.

He continued to win all his contests and in April 1962 he defended his title against Derry Treanor, at the Empire Pool, winning by a technical knockout in the fourteenth round. The next month he defended his title against Harry Carroll in Cardiff forcing him to retire after six rounds.

His first defeat came in November 1962 his 35th fight after 34 straight wins. He was beaten by Leroy Jeffery, an American featherweight, by a technical knockout in the second round after having been knocked down three times.

In January 1963, he defended his British title for the third time, defeating Johnny Morrisey by a technical knockout in the eleventh, in Glasgow.

In July 1963, he challenged for the European featherweight title, fighting Italian holder, Alberto Serti in Cardiff. Winstone won the title when the referee stopped the fight in the fourteenth round.

On month later he defended both titles against Billy Calvert in Porthcawl, winning on points over fifteen rounds. In December 1963 he again defended his titles against John O’Brien, again winning on points.

In January 1964 he suffered only his second defeat in 45 fights, losing to the American, Don Johnson.

In May 1964 he defended his European title against Italian, Lino Mastellaro at the Empire Pool, winning by a technical knockout in the Eighth round.

In January 1965 he defended his European title again, against Frenchman, Yves Desmarets in Rome. He won on points over fifteen rounds.

World title fights[link]

In September 1965 he challenged for the WBA and WBC world featherweight titles held by the Mexican southpaw, Vicente Saldivar. The fight was held at Earls Court Arena, London and Saldivar won on points over fifteen rounds.

In March 1966 he defended his European title against Andrea Silanos in Italy winning by a technical knockout in the fifteenth round. In September 1966 he defended it against Belgian, Jean de Keers at Wembley and won on a technical knockout in three rounds.

In December 1966 he defended his British and European titles against the Welsh featherweight, Lennie Williams, defeating him at Port Talbot in eight rounds.

In June 1967 he was ready for another world title challenge against Vicente Saldivar, this time in Cardiff, but again lost on points, although the decision favoured Saldivar by only half a point.

Four months later, in October 1967, he fought Saldivar again, this time in Mexico City, but lost after being knocked down in the seventh and twelfth rounds. His manager threw in the towel in the twelfth.

After his latest successful defence, Saldivar announced his retirement leaving his world title vacant. In January 1968, Winstone fought the Japanese, Mitsunori Seki for the vacant WBC world featherweight title at the Royal Albert Hall. He won when the fight was stopped in the ninth due to a cut eye, and so finally gained a world title. Saldivar was in the audience to see his vacated title won by his old rival.

In July 1968 he defended his newly won world title against the Cuban, Jose Legra, at Porthcawl, Wales. Although Winstone had beaten Legra twice before, was knocked down twice in the first round. He continued fighting, but unfortunately he sustained a badly swollen left eye, which caused the bout to be stopped in the fifth round. Having lost the world title in his first defence, Winstone decided to retire at the age of 29

Retirement[link]

He continued living in Merthyr Tydfil where he was immensely popular.

Shortly after retiring he was awarded the MBE

Later, he was made a Freeman of Merthyr Tydfil due to his boxing accomplishments

In 2005, he beat Owen Money, Richard Trevithick, Joseph Parry and Lady Charlotte Guest to be named "Greatest Citizen of Merthyr Tydfil", in a public vote competition run by Cyfarthfa Castle and Museum as part of the centenary celebrations to mark Merthyr’s incorporation as a county borough in 1905

His brother, Glyn Winstone continues to run a cafe business in the town's bus station under the boxing-themed trading-style "The Lonsdale Bar"

Film[link]

The life of Howard Winstone was made into a feature film called Risen Starring British actor Stuart Brennan as Howard Winstone which was released in 2011. ^[3]

See also[link]

• List of British featherweight boxing champions

References[link]

• Maurice Golesworthy, Encyclopaedia of Boxing (Eighth Edition) (1988), Robert Hale Limited, ISBN 0-7090-3323-0
• "Howard Winstone: fight record". BoxRec Boxing Records. http://www.boxrec.com/index.php. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• Davies, Sean (1 October 2000). "Howard Winstone, left like a piston". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/951715.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• Mulcahey, Martin. "Howard Winstone: World Featherweight Champion". Welsh Warriors. http://www.johnnyowen.com/howard_winstone.html. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• Allen, Neil (November 2000). "Merthyr finest". Boxing Monthly. http://www.boxing-monthly.co.uk/content/0011/one.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• Williams, David (24 January 2008). "Boxing: Howard Winstone - champ at last". Merthyr Express (Wales Online). http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/boxing-news/2008/01/24/boxing-howard-winstone-champ-at-last-91466-20389601/. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• "Howard Winstone". The Times (London). 2 October 2000. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article986124.ece. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
• Bunce, Steve (1 October 2000). "Howard master of ring craft". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/howard-master-of-ring-craft-700588.html. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 
• Stephens, Meic (3 October 2000). "Howard Winstone". The Independent. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5116720.html. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 

Awards
Preceded by Dai Rees	BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1958	Succeeded by Graham Moore
Preceded by Ivor Allchurch	BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1963	Succeeded by Lynn Davies
Preceded by Lynn Davies	BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 1967	Succeeded by Martyn Woodroffe

New York City map with Brighton Beach marked.

Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2007, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households.^[1] It is known for its high population of Russian speaking immigrants ^[2] and as a summer destination for New York City residents due to its beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and its proximity to the amusement parks in Coney Island. In popular culture, the neighborhood served as the setting for the 1983 Neil Simon play Brighton Beach Memoirs, a coming of age story about a family living in the neighborhood during the great depression.^[3] In current popular culture, the neighborhood has been used as a setting for New York television shows such as Law & Order, Blue Bloods, and Person of Interest. In August 2011 a reality TV series, Russian Dolls, followed the lives of eight women living in the community.^[4]

Location[link]

1873 map of Brighton Beach Downtown section of Brighton Beach, looking east along Brighton Beach Ave. from the corner of Coney Island Ave., near the Brighton Beach subway station A Russian-language bookstore under the elevated train tracks on Coney Island Ave. in Brighton Beach Recently built luxury condos on Brighton Beach Where apartments and private homes meet P.S. 225, a school in Brighton Beach Brighton 15th Street

Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island at Ocean Parkway to the west, Manhattan Beach at Corbin Place to the east, Gravesend at the Belt Parkway to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south (at the Riegelmann Boardwalk/beachfront).^[5] It is patrolled by the NYPD's 60th Precinct.^[6]

History[link]

Brighton Beach was developed by William A. Engeman as a beach resort in 1868, and was named by Henry C. Murphy and a group of businessmen in an 1878 contest;^[5] the winning name evoked the resort of Brighton, England.

The centerpiece of the resort was the large Hotel Brighton (or Brighton Beach Hotel), placed on the beach at what is now the foot of Coney Island Avenue and accessed by the Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway, which opened on July 2, 1878. After a series of winter storms threatened to swamp the hotel, an audacious plan was developed to move it in one piece 520 feet further inland by placing railroad track and 112 railroad flat cars under the raised 460 ft. by 130 ft. building and using six steam locomotives to pull it away from the sea. Engineered by B.C. Miller, the move was begun on April 2, 1888 and continued for the next nine days, being the largest building move of the 19th century.^[7]

Adjacent to the hotel, Engeman built the Brighton Beach Race Course for Thoroughbred horse racing. The village was annexed into the 31st Ward of the City of Brooklyn in 1894.

Brighton Beach was re-developed as a fairly dense residential community with the final rebuilding of the Brighton Beach railway into a modern rapid transit line, known as the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway c. 1920. The subway system in the neighborhood is above ground on an elevated structure.

The years just before and following The Great Depression brought with them a neighborhood consisting mostly of first and second generation Jewish-Americans and, later, concentration camp survivors.^[8] Of the 55,000 estimated Holocaust survivors living in New York City as of 2011, most survivors live in Brighton Beach.^[9]

Notable establishments included Diamond's (a small clothing store owned by the parents of Neil Diamond), Irving's Deli, Mrs. Stahl's Knishes and The Famous, a kosher restaurant. The summer would bring the crowds, and many world renowned celebrities, to the Brighton Beach Baths (Private Beach Club) and surrounding public beaches.

Today, the area has a large community of Jewish immigrants who left the Former Soviet Union since 1970. Some non-Jewish immigrants, such as Armenians and Georgians, have also settled in Brighton Beach and the surrounding neighborhoods, taking advantage of the already established Russian-speaking community.

Culture[link]

Crowded Brighton Beach on a summer afternoon

Water sports on Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach was dubbed "Little Odessa" by the local populace due to many of its residents having come from Odessa, a city of Ukraine.^[10] In 2006, Alec Brook-Krasny was elected for the 46th District of the New York State Assembly, the first elected Soviet-born Jewish politician from Brighton Beach.

The proximity of Brighton Beach to the city's beaches (Brighton Beach Avenue runs parallel to the Coney Island beach and boardwalk) and the fact the neighborhood is directly served by a subway station makes it a popular summer weekend destination for New York City residents.

Transportation[link]

Roadways[link]

Major roadways in Brighton Beach are the Belt Parkway, Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Parkway.

New York City Subway[link]

The BMT Brighton Line has two stations, Brighton Beach and Ocean Parkway, serving the neighborhood. Both are located on an elevated structure over Brighton Beach Avenue. The Q train provides local service north to Manhattan at all times while the B train provides express service weekdays only.

New York City Buses[link]

Buses serving Brighton Beach include the B1, B36, B49, and B68.

Education[link]

Brighton Beach is served by the New York City Department of Education. Manhattan Beach is zoned to PS 225 The Eileen E. Zaglin School for grades K-8, as well as PS 100 The Coney Island School located on Brighton Beach and West 3rd Street for grades K-5 and P.S. 253 The Magnet School of Multicultural Humanities.

Nearby high schools include:

• Rachel Carson High School of Coastal Studies
• The Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences
• William E. Grady Vocational High School
• Abraham Lincoln High School

Crime[link]

Brighton Beach is considered a hot spot for the Russian Mafia,^[11] though public perception has been that organized crime "has largely gone away." ^[12] In the 1970s, the most notorious leg of the mafia was the Potato Bag Gang,^[13] which served as a robbery gang for larger Russian crime syndicates in New York City. Marat Balagula was a crime boss from Brighton Beach who denies having any connection to the American Mafia or the Russian-speaking Mafia. Also the biggest known yet gang, Buniit gang is the most violent.

In popular culture[link]

• The Neil Simon play, Brighton Beach Memoirs, which won two Tony awards in 1983, and its subsequent film adaptation, are both set against the backdrop of Brighton Beach in 1937.
• The 1994 film Little Odessa is set in Brighton Beach.
• In Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film, Requiem for a Dream, the character Sara Goldfarb (played by Ellen Burstyn) lives in an apartment on Brighton 6th Street.
• In the film Lord of War, the main character, Yuri Orlov, played by Nicolas Cage, lives in Brighton Beach.
• In the 2007 crime drama, We Own the Night, the character Bobby Green, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is the manager of a nightclub in Brighton Beach.
• In the 2009 film Two Lovers, featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow, the action takes place in Brighton Beach.
• Brighton Beach is also featured in the 1990s Russian spy-comedy Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach.
• In the Russian crime film Brother 2, Danila, the protagonist, comes to Brighton Beach from Russia.
• In the 1998 novel In Every Laugh a Tear by Lesléa Newman, developments take place partly in Brighton Beach.
• In the 1998 trading autobiography The Education of a Speculator, speculator and hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer takes us back to his childhood in Brighton Beach during the 1950s.
• In the 2000 novel Vector by Robin Cook, disillusioned former Russian biochemical worker Yuri Davydov develops weapons-grade Anthrax in the basement of his Brighton Beach home.
• Brighton Beach is where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Neil McCormick was taken to be beaten and raped in the 2004 film, Mysterious Skin.
• In the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, Brighton Beach is represented by the neighborhood of "Hove Beach". This is in reference to Brighton, England's proximity to, and relationship with, neighboring Hove. The two, having city status, are officially known as Brighton and Hove.
• In the songs "Xero Tolerance" and "Hey Pete" by Type O Negative, Brighton Beach is mentioned as the place where Pete is going to kill his cheating girlfriend. The D-train is his means of transportation in these songs. The full title of the band's faux-live album on which these songs appear is "The Origin Of The Feces - Not Live At Brighton Beach".
• In the video game, XIII, Brighton Beach is one of the first settings of the game's complex plotline.
• The French electronic music group Telepopmusik has a song on their album Angel Milk entitled "Brighton Beach".
• In the space flight simulator Orbiter, there is a fictional base on the moon named Brighton Beach.
• On the TV series The West Wing, Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) hails from Brighton Beach.
• On the TV series Bored to Death, unlicensed private detective Jonathan Ames investigates a case based at a Russian nightclub in Brighton Beach.
• A Lifetime reality TV show called Russian Dolls, documenting the lives of young Russian-Americans and a group of Brighton Beach housewives spending time in a popular Russian nightclub, Rasputin Restaurant, premiered August 11, 2011.
• In an episode of the CBS's Blue Bloods the storyline revolves around the murder of a Russian Mob associate who lived in Brighton Beach. Several scenes are shot on and around the boardwalk.
• In Haley Tanner's debut novel "Vaclav and Lena" (2011) action takes place in Brighton Beach
• In the episode "Witness" of the TV series Person of Interest (2011), Reese has to protect a Brighton Beach high school history teacher who's being hunted by the Russian mob.

Brighton Beach is mentioned:

• In a Rilo Kiley song "Close Call", in which the lyrics "She was born on a Brighton pier to a gypsy mother and a bucket of tears..." are sung.
• In a Little Brazil song "Brighton Beach", in which the lyrics, "I first met her Brighton Beach back in 1973..." are sung.
• In two songs on gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello's album Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony: "Smarkatch" and "Let's Get Radical".
• In the 2002 film 25th Hour during Edward Norton's rant about New York City.
• In the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love), when Christian Mann and Oliver Sabel return to Düsseldorf from New York. Christian claims to have learned a new recipe while in "Little Odessa".

Notable residents[link]

Notable current and former residents of Brighton Beach include:

• Marat Balagula (born 1943) neighborhood mob boss during the 1980s
• Eddie Daniels, clarinettist and saxophonist
• Howard Greenfield (1936–86), songwriter^[14]
• Vyacheslav Ivankov (1940–2009), alleged crime boss
• Jack Kirby (1917–1994), comic book artist, co-creator of Captain America during the early 1940s
• Lea Bayers Rapp (born 1946), author, journalist, playwright^[15]
• Lynn Ross (stage name), dancer in original 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story^[16]
• Neil Sedaka (born 1939), songwriter^[17]
• The Tokens, vocal group formed in 1955 at Abraham Lincoln High School^[18]

See also[link]

New York City portal

• Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brighton Beach, Brooklyn

• Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association
• Russian Community Life Center
• Brighton Beach News Russian-American newspaper
• NY Mag Everything Guide to Brighton Beach

Coordinates: 40°34′39″N 73°57′42″W / 40.577598°N 73.961565°W / 40.577598; -73.961565

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