The Half Moon Hotel in

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, was a 225-foot-tall, 14-story hotel that opened on May 5, 1927, on the

Riegelmann Boardwalk The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a boardwalk along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs bet ...

at West 29th Street. The Half Moon was built to help Coney Island compete with the beach resort

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. The hotel was designed by the architectural firm of George B. Post and Sons and built by the Cauldwell-Wingate Co. It is best known as the location where

Abe Reles Abraham "Kid Twist" Reles (; May 10, 1906 – November 12, 1941) was a New York Jewish mobster who was a hit man for Murder, Inc., the enforcement contractor for Meyer Lansky's National Crime Syndicate. Reles later turned government witne ...

, informant for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

who brought down numerous members of

Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicatea closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the ...

, either jumped, fell or was pushed to his death on November 12, 1941, from room 623, where he was in protective custody of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

, a few hours before he was scheduled to testify against

Albert Anastasia Umberto "Albert" Anastasia (, ; ; September 26, 1902 – October 25, 1957) was an Italian-American mobster, hitman, and crime boss. One of the founders of the modern American Mafia, and a co-founder and later boss of the Murder, Inc. organizat ...

. Reles's death signified the reach that organized crime had into the police department – he was guarded by six police detectives. There was little doubt that Reles was defenestrated. The name "Half Moon" refers to the name of explorer

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

's ship, which anchored off Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn (the location of Coney Island), while searching for a short cut to Asia. During World War 2, the hotel was operated by the U.S. Navy and became known as the "U. S. Naval Special Hospital Sea Gate, NY", a convalescent hospital. In the 1950s, it became a senior citizens' home called the Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center. They moved to another building and it was demolished in 1995. Today the Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is on the site.

References

Buildings and structures demolished in 1995 Coney Island Demolished buildings and structures in Brooklyn Demolished hotels in New York City Hotel buildings completed in 1927 Hotels established in 1927 Hotels in Brooklyn Skyscraper hotels in New York City Skyscrapers in Brooklyn {{Brooklyn-struct-stub