DOB inspectors check amusement park rides ahead of new season on Coney Island
CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Along with the warmer weather comes amusement park season! Before it kicks off, the New York City Department of Buildings performed ride inspections.
The DOB inspected Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park's rides and elevators on Wednesday. The amusement park is 100 years old!
Every year ahead of the summer season inspectors from DOB's Elevator Unit head to Coney Island to inspect the amusement park rides to make sure that they are safe for operation.
Roy Livingstone is a supervising inspector for the city's Buildings Department.
He and other inspectors with the elevator unit are tasked with making sure rides are safe before the amusement parks open for the season.
They check everything from the inflatables, to the 100-year-old carousel, and the iconic Wonder Wheel, which was built in the 1920s.
"Most of the time it's two of us to arrive and we kind of attack it that way to make sure it is safe and it's up to code and it's in compliance, rules and standards and the manufacturers," Livingstone said.
Once they are given the green light, the rides are ready for the public, though the DOB may do additional inspections periodically throughout the season.
The equipment for the rides at Deno's Wonder Wheel is stored away in a basement for the winter and usually brought out around mid-February and assembled for inspections.
Despite having been a part of many season openings, Dennis Vourderis and his family, who run the park, say it's always an exciting time.
"It's always refreshing. Exciting. You always get the adrenaline flowing when the rides start coming together," Vourderis said. "It's like a bear coming out of hibernation."
For Livingstone, coming out to Coney Island to inspect the rides is a walk down memory lane.
"I was just a kid in high school, and I would come here from Queens just so I can get on the road with my mother, and my brothers and sisters, and almost 27 or 28 years later, I'm now responsible for the safety of the people that's running these rides now. So, I guess the full circle," Livingstone said.
The park opens on weekends starting April 13.
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