title: Coney Island High created: 2026-04-07 updated: 2026-04-07 type: venue tags: [venue, hardcore, era-1990s] sources: [raw/articles/coney-island-high-empire-state.md]
Coney Island High
St. Mark’s Place, East Village, New York City. Opened 1995, closed 1999. Short-lived but culturally significant punk venue and nightclub — the punk club of the 90s on St. Mark’s Place.
The Venue
Coney Island High was a two-floor club on St. Mark’s Place — the East Village street that was NYC punk’s main drag. Downstairs was a small club; upstairs was a larger room for bigger shows. The vibe was raw, chaotic, and unapologetically punk.
The club booked a mix of legacy punk acts (Misfits, Rancid, Murphy’s Law, Dictators), emerging bands, and underground shows. It was the place where 90s NYC punk congregated — a bridge between CBGB’s 80s dominance and the venues that would follow.
St. Mark’s Place Context
Coney Island High was part of St. Mark’s Place’s punk ecosystem:
- Trash and Vaudeville — The iconic punk clothing store
- St. Mark’s Comics — Comic shop
- Various record stores, tattoo parlors, vintage shops
- GG Allin lived at 2 St. Mark’s Place
St. Mark’s Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues was punk’s open-air market — the street where you went to look punk, buy punk records, and see punk shows. Coney Island High was its anchor venue in the mid-90s.
Closure
The club closed in 1999 — a short lifespan for an important venue. The space later became other clubs, but none matched CIH’s cultural significance.
Related
- cbgb — the other NYC punk venue
- abc-no-rio — the DIY alternative
- nyhc — the scene