Great story in New York 1 about city inspectors out in Coney Island making sure the rides are, well, SAFE. The park opens next weekend.

Jane Kuntzman is a lucky girl. She was the first rider of the year at Denos Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The place isn’t open for another week, but Department of Buildings inspectors were at the park on Friday making their final safety checks.

"This wonder wheel here, that takes three days. The cyclone across the street in Astroland, that takes three days just to inspect those single rides alone," says Department of Buildings Supervising Inspector Bill Hurley.

The inspectors check everything from nuts and bolts to safety belts and shoulder harnesses.

"Amusement ride inspectors take their jobs very seriously, and they go through days and days of training to understand what to look for," says Department of Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster.

Once they give the rides the okay, the Department of Consumer Affairs can license them. The commissioners of both departments came to Deno’s to announce that the rides had passed inspection.

"The rides are thrilling. But, particularly for parents and caregivers, you want to make sure that you are putting your kids on a ride that is going to be safe," says Consumer Affairs Director Jonathan Mintz.

"It assures us, which assures the public that the rides are safe," says Dennis Vouderis of Deno’s Wonder Wheel.

One of the rides that passed inspection is the famous cyclone, which is great because that
means that I get to take a ride. And it’s still scary after all these years.

You can have fun too starting next weekend, when the amusement parks at Coney Island open