I’m going to take a cue from my classmates and start with some visuals for my social media diary because it generally makes things more interesting. But first, I do want to address the fact that Coney Island is a complex place; it’s always a bit strange to visit a place that has two very distinct feels to it.

Hope Campbell works in the Family Resource Center at the Roberta Bright YWCA on West 37th street. She describes Coney Island as a neighborhood that is “very much right and wrong side of the tracks.”

Stay on the boardwalk, you see the “right” side:

Photo by Rachel Sapin

Step off onto Surf Avenue and you see–well, something else. There are 10 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments in Community District 13, according to the 60th Precinct. Nine of them are in Coney Island (zip code 11224). You can search for them here.

Coney Island Flea Market on Surf Avenue. Housed in the historic Herman Popper building. Photo by Rachel Sapin

My initial question that I wanted to gage the relevancy of via social media for was, “What would you like to see stay or go as Coney Island reimagines its future? (Read the original post here).

I posted my query to Facebook and Twitter, but this strategy garnered little attention.

Then, thanks to Channon’s advice, I started searching “Save Coney Island” on Google to see if there were any pertinent forums I could post my question to. Through doing this, I found out I may be asking the wrong question ALTOGETHER. Save Coney Island and other advocacy websites haven’t really been active since April 2011.

This past Sunday, I learned from Charles Denson, founder of the Coney Island History Project, that I was definitely asking the wrong question. He explained to me that the city’s development plans were already in effect. The redevelopment plan was passed by the city in 2009. The community was done protesting.

Now residents are simply waiting. Denson took me on a tour of the boardwalk, adding this would be the last weekend to see longtime mom and pop shops like Cha Cha’s, Rubys, and Paul’s Daughter. Valerie Georgoulakos, owner of Paul’s Daughter, speaks candidly about what it’s like to close a family-owned business that has been on the boardwalk for six decades in this excellent New York mag piece.

I was curious as to precisely which Coney Island businesses were closing, since they weren’t all mentioned in The Times bittersweet July article on the subject. I posted my question on the Save Coney Island Facebook page.

I’m still waiting to hear back, and I’m still searching for the right question to ask.