We've got a lot of love for Brooklyn here at at the Needles and Sins Compound and an even deeper love for Coney Island; with it's boardwalks rotting out from under your feet, rides that might kill you at any second and the glorious art of the sideshow.  No summer in NYC is complete without a Nathan's hot dog, some Coney Island Lager and someone pounding 10" nails into their sinuses.

So it's with sadness that we report the passing of former Coney Island strongman, Joe Rollino, who was struck and killed by (of all things) a minivan earlier this week.  He was a boxer, a Coney Strongman (who started his strongman career at the age of 10), a member of the Polar Bear Club and just a year ago, at the age of 103, he could still bend quarters in his teeth.

As we watch Coney Island change, gentrify and Disney-ify, it's sad to know that one of its legends is no longer with us.

The New York Times wrote about his passing here, and NPR also did a broadcast about him, which you can read the transcript of or stream the audio here.

[photo credit: Charles Denson]