Coney Island? Isn’t that in New York City? Formally known as Pulau Serangoon, the 50 ha (size of about 70 football fields) island originally shared its nickname with another island called Pulau Satumu (and reportedly several others), where Raffles Lighthouse is located, as our colonial masters couldn’t seem to make up their minds. Hugging the north-east coast of Singapore facing Pulau Ubin, the island was bought over by the Haw Par brothers in the 1930s, who then proceeded to build a beach villa there. World War II came, and it fell into disrepair, but Indian businessman Ghulam Mahmood swooped in and purchased the place with the intention of turning it into a resort. However, plans to imitate Brooklyn’s world-renowned tourist destination failed spectacularly, and the place was, once again, left to rot. Before it was slated for redevelopment in recent times, Coney Island was a popular destination for activities such as boating, water skiing, fishing, and family picnics. A sucker for (relatively) unknown places, I first went to explore the island back in April during my stay in Little …