An iconic roller coaster in New York City’s Coney Island that opened nearly 100 years ago has been closed indefinitely after it malfunctioned during a ride on Thursday.
Luna Park’s 97-year-old wooden roller coaster, Cyclone, stopped operating midway up the climb to its famous drop after a chain sprocket in the motor room broke, according to the Associated Press.
Several people were rescued from the roller coaster after the ride was shut down, but no one was injured, the New York City Department of Buildings said.
Department inspectors visited the ride site on Friday and issued violations to Luna Park’s owners for damaging equipment and failing to provide immediate notification of the accident.
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Cyclone (Joan Slatkin/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/File)
“At Luna Park in Coney Island, safety is our number one priority, and ride maintenance and thorough testing is conducted prior to Luna Park’s opening and throughout the day, every day, as needed,” Luna Park officials wrote on the park’s website. “The Coney Island Cyclone is a 97-year-old roller coaster that is meticulously maintained and tested daily. The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) has inspected and approved it for opening on August 21, 2024.”
The post added that the Cyclone was temporarily closed due to a mechanical issue it experienced on Thursday and is currently undergoing repairs.
“Once repairs are complete and the ride passes DOB inspection, we plan to reopen the Cyclone roller coaster,” the park said in a statement.
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Coney Island Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, New York City, circa 1952. (Bob Henriquez/Photo/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Built in 1927, the Cyclone has survived natural disasters, park closures, rapid urban development, and many other threats to its existence, and is one of the oldest roller coasters still operating in the United States.
The Cyclone is recognized as significant not only by roller coaster enthusiasts, but also by state and national authorities — in fact, according to the American Roller Coaster Enthusiasts Association’s website, the association designated the Cyclone an “ACE Roller Coaster Landmark” on June 2, 2002.
The designation is given to “historically significant vehicles,” the company said.
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People ride the Cyclone at Coney Island on May 31, 2021 in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
In 1988, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Cyclone a landmark, stating that “the ride is often cited as one of the best-designed roller coasters in the United States” and that it is one of fewer than 100 wooden-rail roller coasters remaining in the United States.
Three years later, National Register of Historic Places We have added the “Cyclone Roller Coaster” to our database, one of five roller coasters to receive this honor.
“The Cyclone Roller Coaster still embodies the excitement of Coney Island’s once-popular roller coasters and remains a rare relic from a bygone era,” the National Register of Historic Places states.
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The ride itself, with an 85-foot drop, 2,640-foot length and a top speed of 60 mph, hasn’t changed much since it first opened.
In 1939, 12 years after it opened, the Cyclone was renovated to shorten its initial drop by five feet and “some of the coaster’s curves were realigned at that time to provide a faster, more impactful ride,” according to the National Register of Historic Places.
Fox News’ Christine Roussel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
