   coney island usa is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization founded in 1980 that is dedicated to the cultural and economic revitalization of the coney island neighborhood of the borough of brooklyn in new york city. its landmark building in the heart coney island's amusement district houses a theater in which the organization presents "sideshows by the seashore", a showcase for performers with unusual talents that runs continuously during the warmer months, as well as the coney island museum. it is also notable as the organizer of the annual coney island mermaid parade, the first of which took place in 1983. about coney island usa official site coney island usa was founded in 1980 by costa mantis, jane savitt-tennen and dick d. zigun. coney island usa is governed by a board of directors currently composed of dick d. zigun (founder), mark alhadeff, jeff birnbaum, kate dale (director, creepshow at the freakshow), john di domenico, fred kahl (director, burlesque at the beach), marie roberts (artist in residence), james quigley, betsy bradley, sarah eisinger, harris falk and steve yaros. legal advice is provided by gibson, dunn & crutscher, llp, morgan, lewis & bockius, llp and frankfurt, kurnit, klein & selz, pc; financial advice is provided by chris yeboa, cpa, yeboa & lawrence, cpas, & business consultants. coney island usa is funded, in part, by the lily auchincloss foundation, the carnegie corporation, the fund for the city of new york; the independence community foundation, the lemberg foundation, the new york city department of cultural affairs, the new york community trust, the new york council for the humanities, the new york state council on the arts, brooklyn borough president marty markowitz, new york city councilman domenic recchia and its members. ==references==  ==external links== * *tumblr
Amusement_museums_in_the_United_States Coney_Island History_museums_in_New_York Museums_in_Brooklyn Non-profit_organizations_based_in_New_York_City