New Yorkers turned out in force for Saturday’s reopening of Coney Island’s Luna Park, with some arriving long before any of the amusement park’s workers.
Bensonhurst’s David Zubin, 34, arrived outside the park at 3:45 a.m., to make sure he was one of the first in line for the season’s inaugural ride on the park’s iconic wooden Cyclone coaster.
Zubin was joined at 6:30 a.m. by his friend Erik Knapp, 59, Brooklyn’s self-proclaimed “Mr. Cyclone.”
“Don’t lose your inner child,” offered Knapp, who has the Cyclone tattooed on his right arm.
“Usually, I come here a lot earlier, but my mom is sick. She’s 83, and I am actually riding for my mom today.”
Knapp, who has ridden the coaster more than 2,000 times, said that for the previous 22 years, he’d been the first in line for the coaster.
But this year, it was Zubin’s turn.
“All I gotta say is, if you love something in life, do it,” said Zubin.
Behind the two friends in line were Sarah, 21, and her mother Marcela Infante, 46.
The Queens women awoke at 5 a.m., hoping to be the first in line for a coaster they’d never before ridden.
“[Zubin] was already here, and we started talking and now, we have new friends,” said Sarah Infante.
“The weather has been super and we’re super excited for the ride. We are big rollercoaster fans and this will be our first time on the Cyclone.”
State Rep. Alec Brook-Krasny, a Republican, was also on hand for the opening day festivities.
“I’m always saying, ‘If you’re in a good mood, come to Coney Island,’ Brook-Krasny told The Post.
“‘If you’re in a bad mood, come to Coney Island — you’re mood will become better.’”
Parkgoers were welcomed to Luna Park Saturday with new arcade games, updated retail store and a new patio at open-air eatery Salt & Sizzle.
Coney Island’s unofficial mayor Dick D. Zigun said the weather was perfect for opening weekend.
“I think this must be the most gorgeous opening day in the entire history of Coney Island, which goes back over 160 years,” Zigun said.
Alessandro Zamperla was in attendance with his mother, Paula Zamperla, and brother, Antonio Zamperla. The native Italians have owned and operated Luna Park since 2009.
“There are people in the United States who have a list of dreams of their lives,” Paula Zamperla said.
“And a lot of people come here with the list that they show us. And they say, ‘I go to the Cyclone because its on my list.’”
For Alessandro, riding the Cyclone will never get old.
“Every year, it gets better,” he said.
“Its almost like a good wine: it gets more flavor, more emotions, more energy from the people. Just imagine the hundreds of thousands of people who have been riding it since 1927.”
