Don’t tell me you didn’t roll
your eyes a couple of weeks ago when the Cyclone Roller Coaster in Coney Island
broke down for the second time since opening day back in March. So all of those
anxious passengers – who love the thrill of being tossed around on top of
rickety wooden tracks – had to walk down to safety. So what!! They could be caught
in the crossfire of a gang shooting only a few blocks away.
I know the feeling of being
on a roller coaster – I’ve been on the Cyclone ONCE and hurt my elbow from the
careless and dangerous whipping – which all amusement park-goers endure. If
you’ve taken a chance on other rides like the Thunderbolt – which I won’t be
trying any time soon – your love for thrills and danger has only begun.
How about the danger and
thrills that lurk less than a mile away from Coney Island’s packed amusement
park – where a game of “shoot the clown” is more real than any arcade game
and no one wins a prize for that gun-popping sound that comes along with your
victory. And where’s the real gun? Probably buried in the sand! If you recall,
a mother and her 10-year-old daughter stumbled upon a loaded gun on the beach
in August 2014.
Sure, people screaming
because of the adrenaline they feel on a ride is part of the fun – but it seems
like more people should be screaming because of the danger they feel simply
walking the streets. Making Coney Island a fun, touristy attraction and safe
place to spend your summer is getting less and less feasible. It almost seems
like there are more shootings and violent crimes happening in Coney Island than
in Canarsie.
If you’ve ever seen one of
the freak shows in Coney Island – where the sword swallower wows the crowd –
you’ve said MORE than “wow” in early June if you witnessed a police officer
being attacked with an 11-inch hunting knife! Thankfully, they shot the
58-year-old wacko who also attacked a woman on the street.
Let’s get real! Some people
want their bodies thrown in that sling shot ride just feet away from the
Atlantic Ocean. Others are LOOKING for bodies, like 74-year-old Crucita Alvarado,
who went missing for a month last year and was then reportedly found dead and
decomposed on the roof of a building on West 30th Street.
News12 Brooklyn recently
reported that Coney Island residents want more police to be on foot patrol on
the streets, making sure dangerous individuals from mental health clinics and
homeless shelters in that area are being watched more carefully.
 |
| Escaping roller coasters or gunshots??? |
Still, the 60th Precinct is
right in the thick of the action and they’ve got patrol cars constantly…on
patrol! The westernmost streets on Mermaid Avenue and Neptune Avenue have
properties and apartments with gated windows as if residents are prisoners in
their own home! You’re safer being in a caged seat on the Wonder Wheel hundreds
of feet above the air!
On some blocks, shady
characters hang out outside bodegas and youths from the nearby housing complex
run into the streets, in the middle of traffic. Yes – I’ve witnessed all of
that and it’s NO freak show or teacup ride through the ’hood!
So what scares you more –
being hurled around in the air for about a minute while you’re strapped to an
opened seat, your stomach cavity convulsing to stay intact with gravity – or
entering territory where bloodshed takes place on a regular basis? Believe it
or not, it’s all happening in the SAME PLACE – even if you’re looking for a day
trip away from the war-zones we call home within Canarsie, East New York, East
Flatbush and Flatbush.
Hold on tight and buckle
yourself in – summer’s only begun and there’s nowhere you can escape from the
dangers of a violent amusement park.
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