10. This spring at Coney Island

Coney Island is one of those places that has an outsized profile in the American imagination, but it's seemed to exist since the 1970s in twilight, halfway between a glorious past and an uncertain future. That's some of what photographer Joshua Brown saw on a visit last winter.

Now, prompted by yet another round of rumors that developers are readying the wrecking ball, Nick Carr's great "Scouting NY" blog has taken a long look at the beleaguered beach resort, including a tour through the magnificently derelict Bank of Coney Island. (Carr's a location scout, which explains why he seems to be all over the five boroughs; the bank pictures, though, come from another scout, whose identity Carr is keeping to himself.) Over at Kickstarter, meanwhile, filmmaker JL Arsonson is fundraising for a documentary called "Last Summer at Coney Island." He's down to a 96-minute cut and is rounding up donors to help him bring it home. (Full disclosure: I'm one of them.)

What do the three have in common? An affection for Coney Island as it's been -- down at the heels, sure, but authentic in itself, and a window into a kind of mass-market popular culture that our big cities are ever more willing to bulldoze. It seems like every spring brings fresh rumors of Coney Island's demise. It'd be a shame if this year they finally came true.