Coney Island is Back & Better Than Ever

America’s favorite past-time emerged full-swing last Wednesday at the Brooklyn Cyclones game in Coney Island.

Co-hosted by The Cats Roundtable’s very own John Catismatidis, the day reminded New Yorkers, visitors, and tourists alike that on the historic Brooklyn boardwalk, and the city at large, life was roaring back with the summer.

Indeed, the first pitch of the evening’s game, thrown by Margo Catismatidis, the wife of Mr. Catsimatides, sent a clear message far and wide: Brooklyn is back, and back with style.

The New York Mets’ Doc Gooden, John Franco, Ed Kranepool, and Art Shamsky joined elected officials to show regardless of political divisions, sports continued to be one of the greatest unifiers of New Yorkers.

The focus on Brooklyn’s resiliency and recovery attracted the likes of former mayor Rudy Giuliani and former US House Rep. Peter King, as well as executive vice president of the Maimonides Medical Center, Michael Atoniades, who said he attended on behalf of “the 65,000 health care workers who put their life and their careers and their sweat and tears on the line for the last 18 months.”

The genuine emphasis upon the community gave Peter King pause for reflection as he joined The Cats Roundtable this Sunday.

“That was old New York,” King said on The Cats Roundtable this Sunday. “Brooklyn is back, back stronger than ever—and it was just a wonderful feeling to be there.”

To King, the way forward for Brooklyn, and New York City generally, was on full display July 14 th , bolstered by new investments that aim to raise Coney Island once again as a must-go destination for New York residents and beyond.

Those investments include the Ocean Drive Towers apartments in Coney Island, owned by John and Margo Catsimatidis, with an aim to reclaim the century-old fame of Coney Island’s historic theme-park, board-walk, and baseball stadium into a new golden era.

King praised the involvement of the Maimonides Medical Center and local businesses in their stance to show Brooklyn and its residents were “such an integral part of New York” yet can still “stand by itself.”

The greatness of Brooklyn will be the first thing you’ll hear from most Brooklynites, but King believed it sent a strong message at a time when New Yorkers have left the city in droves, migrating south for the weather, taxes, or a more welcoming political environment. King’s message on Sunday seemed particular to call out these “snowbirds,” who would always be New Yorkers at heart.

“You know what I say to all our friends in Miami who were New Yorkers?” King asked. “It’s time to come back and breath in that ocean air up here—it’s better.”