Gerry Menditto has been the Genius of the Cyclone for over 34 years. Within that time, he has seen countless numbers of anxious individuals tensely ascend its 85-foot plunge, excitedly descend, and hectically barrel along the tracks of the legendary roller-coaster in rattle-edged scintillation. In 1975, he took what he thought would be a two-week job as manager of the Cyclone; he never left.
He’s no stranger to the Cyclone and certainly no stranger to Coney Island. Menditto was born and raised there; he remembers it as being a “good neighborhood.” The rides and attractions that other kids saw as temporal summertime friends were his permanent neighbors. As a teenager he learned to operate many of the rides and later learned to do maintenance work on them as well.
During the summer season, he regularly works 13- to 14- hours a day, six days a week on the Cyclone, making sure that everything checks out and that each nut and bolt is properly fastened. Even though his job is to keep the roller-coaster safe and functional, Menditto agrees that its rickety quality is a major part of the fun. Ironically, the man who has done so much to keep the ride running smoothly has never taken a ride on his roller-coaster:
“I’m not afraid of the ride, because I hung from every piece of steel on this ride. I’ve been all over it,” he said. “It’s not a question of the height or . . . the speed,” he said. “I just don’t like the drop.”
Last week, Menditto was inducted into the People’s Hall of Fame (a nonprofit group run by City Lore) for his services to the community. Indeed, he’s done much to bring fun and excitement to tens of thousands of visitors to Coney Island’s brief yet eternal summers. We are indeed grateful to him.
Even though he plans to stay with the job as long as possible, he has no plans to ever ride the Cyclone. As he declares:
“No way in hell. Because I think if I went on it, it might be the last thing I do,” he said. “You’d have to call the meat wagon, take me away.”
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