How the Head of Luna Park on Coney Island Spends His Sundays

While growing up in Vicenza, Italy, and playing professional rugby, Alessandro Zamperla did not imagine he would have a role in New York history. But with a last name that has become synonymous with the amusement industry, his destiny was in motion.

Since 2018, Mr. Zamperla, 40, has been the president of Central Amusement International, the group that manages Luna Park in Coney Island. The storied seaside amusement park hosts the 97-year-old Cyclone roller coaster and the steel Thunderbolt.

“I would come here with my grandfather, I would come here with my father because we would actually sell the attractions to Astroland,” said Mr. Zamperla, referring to rides at Coney Island’s defunct theme park. “We knew very much the history, the legacy, the amazing contribution not just to the local community but to American culture.”

The Zamperla family, which has manufactured attractions around the world since 1966, revived Luna Park in 2010 after Mr. Zamperla’s father, Alberto Zamperla, won a contract from the city to save the amusement district after the 2008 financial crisis. Alessandro began flipping burgers and rolling hot dogs on a boardwalk grill, rising in the company before his father ultimately passed the reins to him.

Alberto Zamperla died in Italy in November 2022.

Alessandro Zamperla embraced the position, anxiously carrying the legacy of five generations in the amusement industry. This May, Luna Park opened Electric Eden, an electric go-kart attraction, making the area the largest amusement park in Coney Island history.

“The legacy is much more intimidating than the competition,” Mr. Zamperla said. “You want to hold the torch very high, you want to make sure it glows very bright when you have your moment, your time, and then pass it to the next generation.”