For more than a century, Coney Island has been known for seaside fun and a place to escape from New York, the city that never sleeps. But that dreamland turned into a terrible experience for the Vourderis family on October 29th. Rising waters from Sandy flooded their Coney Island amusement rides and games.
“When we got here and saw the devastation, it was like a death, figuratively like a death.”
Deno Vourderis is a third generation worker in this family-owned business.
“I mean figuratively like a death because a lot of the stuff has history.”
Those things include the family’s 93 year old Wonder Wheel. The 45-meter high structure was named an official New York City landmark in 1989. It survived the strong winds of super-storm Sandy, but the storm’s sand and water nearly destroyed it.
The family’s over 50 year old Spook-A-Rama house also suffered damage.
The Vourderis family decided to rebuild. Deno worked with a five man crew he has known since he was a boy. His father Steve directed the clean-up and rebuilding effort.
“...We’re men and we do what we have to do. We get it done.”
Steve’s brother, Dennis Vourderis, supervised planning and finances. He says the family had to borrow a huge amount of money to pay for repairs and new equipment.
“But what hurts more is when you have an old piece of equipment that has been around for 70 or 80 years that was underwater and you know it can’t be restored. So that’s especially painful to throw away.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25