Mermaid Avenue corner co-named after lifelong Coney Islander

Coney Island icon and well known businessman and civic leader Lou Powsner got his own little corner of history on Saturday, September 26 as community members, longtime friends and local elected officials honored his memory by co-naming the corner of Mermaid Avenue and West 17^th Street, “Lou Powsner Place.”

The Coney Island corner, chosen for its proximity to Powsner’s store, Powsner’s Mens Shop, turned out an impressive array of local bigwigs for the occasion along with supportive family members and friends.

“Mr. Powsner was a quintessential New Yorker who served his city and country in a number of roles, including businessman, civic leader, journalist and World War II veteran,” said Councilmember Mark Treyger. “His love for his community and impact on life in Coney Island and southern Brooklyn touched countless lives and led to major improvement and progress for local businesses and residents. He remained in his community at a time when many of his neighbors fled to the suburbs, and he proudly kept his store open during very tumultuous times, despite the presence of vacant and burned-out storefronts along Mermaid Avenue.”

According to friend and former employee of Powsner’s Henry Feintuch, the successful business owner lent his hand to many causes. He was the president of the Coney Island Board of Trade and president of the Joint Council of Kings County Boards of Trade, and generally wanted “to help the merchants of Coney Island to organize and improve Mermaid Ave.

“I quickly learned that this guy was anything but solely a small-town merchant,” said Feintuch. “It really is a well-deserved honor. He never considered himself part of the establishment; he was always pushing the establishment to do good for the community. The city and the community at this point can look back through the filter of time and understand that he did fight a crusade to improve the community and to improve the city, it’s really gratifying and vindicating to all of his sleepless nights and thousands of hours away from his family. This stretch of Mermaid Avenue was always Lou Powsner’s Place to me. Now, it all comes full circle and we all get to share it together and keep his memory and spirit alive.”