Hundreds of thousands of people descended on Coney Island Saturday afternoon for the annual event that draws creatures of the sea (read: the five boroughs and beyond) and out onto land (read: Surf Avenue) in a celebration of eccentrics, art and summer.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
The 37th annual Mermaid Parade took over the neighborhood’s amusement district, featuring revelers decked out in seafaring attire and reportedly drawing more than 800,000 people to Coney. It is considered the largest artistic parade in the country.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
“The sun is here. It rained all week, didn’t it? But the sun is here. The solstice is here,” said Dick Zigun, the parade’s founder.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
Zigun, the perpetual, unofficial mayor of Coney Island, founded the event in 1983 as a way to pay homage to the neighborhood’s artist community. This year, he welcomed two Coney Island natives back to the shore as the parade’s King Neptune and Queen Mermaid: siblings Arlo and Nora Guthrie.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
The two are children of the iconic folk singer Woody Guthrie, and they are the first king of queen to have actually lived on Mermaid Avenue.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
“This is the air that birthed us, this is the sand that birthed us,” Nora Guthrie said at an early-morning street co-naming for her father. “We’re kind of like amphibious. We crawled in from the sea and got as far as Mermaid Avenue.”
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
The parade not only puts barely-dressed mermaids in the spotlight, it encourages spectators to dress up and join in on the fun, turning the neighborhood into a commingling of land and sea creatures that keeps up for hours after the parade reaches its end.
Eagle photo by Paul FrangipaneEagle photo by Paul Frangipane
Those people, Arlo Guthrie said, are one of the reasons his father loved living in Coney Island.
Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane
“He loved being here among all the regular people of the world who seemed to be coalescing right here in this one spot,” Guthrie said.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
