Coney Island Boys-Street Gang Revenge Redefined

By John Terlato

Follow Dylan Flynn from an inexperienced recruit in The Coasters street gang to Gang Leader. Dylan proved himself as The Master planner involving rumbles with rival gangs byt left himunprepared for adult hood. Revenge takes many forms as Dylan realizes that life is short and very unforgiven. This latest installment, in the Coney Island Boys series, has been heralded as West Side Story meets The Warriors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Terlato
• Release date: May 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223562788

Book preview

Chapter 1

The 1950’s and 60’s saw the formation of many neighborhood gangs in  New York City and surrounding boroughs.Brooklyn played host to a number of these organized units of young men. Mostly lower income youngsters, many from broken homes, all searching for an identity. From the Avenue A Assassins to the Canarsie Carnivores, known to all as The Carnies, the Coney Island area was prime turf worth fighting over. A gang would control the area from the El at Stillwell Avenue to the amusement park offering ownership of the boardwalk. This was the Grand Prize and the legendary Coasters had held control for the last five years, led by veteran banger, Rio.They were constant targets being tested on their own turf. Gangs from all over Brooklyn would venture to the beach and challenge them for control of this area. Rumble after rumble, The Coasters held their ground. They appeared invincible. The intruders would soon find out that they were outsmarted and out muscled when it came to fighting The Coasters.Meet Dylan Flynn. As a young man growing up in Brooklyn, Dylan had to deal with being raised in a toxic environment. Along with his two younger sisters, Dylan watched his alcoholic father blaming his addiction on being an unemployed, handicapped man. His disabilities were caused by years of fighting, alongside his gang brothers. He was seriously wounded a number of times and his lack of medical insurance caused broken bones to not heal properly. He was now restricted to a wheelchair and could no longer provide for the family. Dylan felt no pity towards this man. He was a victim of his own life. An uneducated,brute of a man relying on his wife of twenty years to work two jobs to support the family. Dylan felt sorry for his mom. She kept working to keep the family afloat. She had provided for everyone and never blamed anyone for the life she was leading. She embodied love as well as independence, and a strength even unknown to her.Dylan helped with the household chores and cared for the girls. He remained focused and swore to himself he would never end up like his father.He stayed in school until he turned sixteen, the legal age to start working. He immediately quit school and started working full time at the corner deli. He knew he could take some of the pressure off his mom and being close to home, was available in case of an emergency. His mother was very much against his decision to leave school. She could tell that he was destined for bigger things than working at a deli but understood his need to help. She assured him that she could handle the bills for the two years he needed to graduate. He refused to stop helping her. Her reasoning was that with a high school diploma ,Dylan could land a better paying job, not for her but for him. To get his life on track. She asked Would you agree to let your sisters quit school? You are their role model. They learn from you. You are their hero! I need to know you all have a future. Don’t throw it away! Dylan hugged his mom as a tear ran down his cheek. No words were spoken as he then hugged the girls. He turned to leave knowing he needed time to sort this all out. What his mom had said made sense.He was visibly torn. Too much to make a rational decision. He decided to sit with the girls and try to make them understand what he was doing. Ironically, he was late for work.

Chapter 2

As Dylan walked home from work, he was approached by three members of The Borough Park Boys, or The Boys, for short. They bullied him into giving them the bag of groceries he was bringing to the family. While this was taking place, unnoticed by the group,a Coasters scout was watching to see how this would play out. As Dylan resisted, the boys began to get physical. They knocked the bag out of his hand and began to hurl insults at him. It was time for Dylan to take a stand.He needed this food for tonight's dinner. As the boys surrounded him, blocking his path, Dylan reacted by punching the closest boy and sweeping the legs out from the other two. As one of them got back to his feet, he adopted a boxing stance. Before he could actually maintain an attack position, Dylan landed a thunderous punch to the boy's stomach. As the boy doubled over in pain, Dylan landed an uppercut knocking his opponent unconscious. With all three boys on the ground, Dylan picked up his bag and calmly left the scene. The scout could not believe his eyes.``This guy can fight! He ran back to the Coasters with the story. The members were curious as to who he was. They sent the same scout back the next day, at about the same time. He saw Dylan, once again, heading home and calmly called out to him.Dylan squared off expecting to relive the day before. The scout motioned to him to come closer. Dylan didn’t see a group so he felt secure.``What do you want? The scout smiled.``I saw that performance you put on yesterday. Impressive! I told my guys about it and they are interested in talking to you. Dylan asks Who are your guys anyway? The scout looks slowly in either direction and whispers The Coasters! Dylan's eyes grew wide. Really? I heard about them. The number one gang in Coney.What do they want to talk to me about? The scout shrugs his shoulders.Not sure. Rio probably wants to meet you.It’s all good bro!. Dylan thinks it over Could be interesting! I’m in!" The scout arranges to meet him on the next afternoon on the same spot.Dylan agrees to the meeting. The scout gives him a thumbs up and runs out of view.

Chapter 3

The following day, Dylan arrives at the meeting spot. He is the only one there. Beginning to start feeling that this was a mistake, Dylan thinks to himself ‘That kid was full of shit! There's no meeting here. Why would the Coasters want to talk to me anyway? As these, and other thoughts, race through his mind, the scout appears accompanied by two members of the gang. They were all wearing black jackets with the word ‘Coasters’ across the back. The scout stayed back to keep a safe perimeter, as the other two made their way towards Dylan. One of the men offered him a handshake. Dylan could see the embroidery on the front of the jacket and knew by the name, Rio, that this was the leader of The Coasters. He grasped the man's hand and shook vigorously. It’s great to meet you!. The man smiled. I’m Rio. This here is Southside, my sergeant at arms. We heard a little bit about you from Buggy. He saw what you did when you were ambushed by the Borough Boys yesterday.Nice work! What’s your name kid? Dylan...Dylan Flynn. Why did you need to meet with me?’ Rio liked the fact that he got right to the point. Well, as you may have figured out, we represent The Coasters. We have a strong club with a lot of great guys. The Coasters are under constant pressure from rival gangs all wanting to control the Coney area. We are constantly battling intruders on our turf.They all want to take what is ours.See, I’ve gotta make you understand, we don’t initiate...we retaliate! We protect each other, the neighborhood, and the reputation of our club. Lately it’s been worse than ever before in the history of our little group. Gang after gang show up here to test us. Many of them are no threat at all. Some are tougher to handle.We are  always looking for new talent, people who could help us with our cause. You could be one of those people if you are half the fighter that Buggy said you were. I could always use more soldiers!" Dylan knows all about The Coasters and their reputation. He also knows that it is almost impossible to be accepted into this group yet he is being invited to join. The gangs in his father’s era were downright children. They would fight other gangs as well as themselves. It wasn't about reputation back then. If it was, their reputation would have been a group of idiots trying to intimidate the adults in a specific neighborhood. They scared many of them away leaving the area depressed and unlivable in the end. While all these thoughts circle his mind, Dylan’s face reflected an inner strength. A strength he needed to erase these thoughts of the past. He  was not his father and would not treat this life