In this century it is more common for the city to demap streets than to add new roads as it wages an ongoing war on cars. That’s why I was surprised to see a new two-block street recently completed in Coney Island: Ocean Way, which runs between West 20th and West 22nd Streets, between Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk.
The reason for the street’s construction is a set of residential towers approved by the city and financed by the state: Tilyou Towers, and the state-financed Raven Hall and Surf Vets Place. The former honors George C. Tilyou, who founded Steeplechase Park, and the latter remembers Ravenhall Baths that stood on this site in the early 20th century. Today’s Coney Island is filled with old names repurposed for new rides: Steeplechase, Thunderbolt, Luna Park. Apartment developers are continuing this theme in their names for buildings.
Architecturally, Raven Hall apartments do not offer much in exterior decoration besides the wave patterns under the windows, but the sandy color of the concrete evokes the nearby beach. As this building was sponsored by the city and state, there are affordable units in the building for those wishing to try their luck in the housing lottery.
Named for its owners, the Ravenhall family, this bathing complex contained a swimming pool, gum, handball courts, steam rooms, and showers. Its story began in 1867 as one of the first hotels on the Brooklyn oceanfront, which eventually became a bathhouse as subways made Coney Island easily reachable from other parts of the city. Like many of the neighborhood’s old amusement parks, Ravenhall Baths closed in 1963 after a devastating fire.
The site of Ravenhall Baths was developed by the city as the Abe Stark indoor ice skating rink. Its namesake became famous beyond Brooklyn for the advertisement in Ebbets Field with the caption, “Hit sign, win suit.” This business owner also served as City Council President followed by three terms as Brooklyn’s Borough President. The last bathhouse standing at Coney Island lives on as a Parks Department garage.
For now, the Tilyou’s construction hasn’t yet begun so the view from Ocean Way offers a NYCHA superblock and a row of small shops on Surf Avenue. Particularly of interest here is a rare storefront synagogue, Chabad of Coney Island. The neighborhood used to have freestanding synagogues but as the neighborhood deteriorated in the 1970s, their members moved out.
With the influx of Russian-speaking Jews at the turn of the millennium, Chabad rented out a retail space with the goal of eventually building something bigger. Its neighbors are a Champions of Christ ministry and a laundromat. Russian-speaking Jews also brought back bathhouses, but in smaller forms specilizing in saunas and steam rooms.
Ocean Way runs on the back side of the landmarked Child’s Restaurant Building which serves as the anchor for the Coney Island Amphitheater. I was not previously aware that its side walls also have medallion reliefs of Neptune and oceangoing boats. The amphitheater and Seaside Park were developed after the one-block Highland View Avenue was demapped in 2014. Ocean Way appears to be taking its place as the short street between Surf Avenue and the ocean.
Visiting Coney Island at the end of the summer has become a tradition for my family, and each time there’s another overlooked item here to document. If you’re not here for the rides, the neighborhood has murals to admire that relate to local history. Local resident Danielle Mastrion has several murals in Coney Island. At Valerio’s Way, she created a mermaid queen whose crown evokes the defunct Parachute Drop flanked by the new Thunderbolt and old Cyclone roller coasters. The alley is named for Valerio Ferrari, president of the Italy-based Zamperla Group that built Luna Park.
Sergey Kadinsky is the author of Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs (2016, Countryman Press), adjunct history professor at Touro University and the webmaster of Hidden Waters Blog.
Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
9/7/26