No luck. I do recall that Coney Island was blacked out during WWII to prevent U-boats from using the the lights to backlight targets. So I gave that a start to further Internet searching, and here are some brief results.
From the wikipedia article, New York Harbor.
After the United States entered World War II, Operation Drumbeat set the top U-Boat aces loose against the merchant fleet in U.S. territorial waters in January 1942, starting the Second happy time. The U-Boat captains were able to silhouette target ships against the glow of city lights, and attacked with relative impunity, in spite of U.S. Naval concentrations within the Harbor. Casualties included the tankers Coimbria off Sandy Hook and Norness off Long Island. New York Harbor, as the major convoy embarkation point for the U.S., was effectively a staging area in the Second Battle of the Atlantic, with the U.S. Merchant Marine losses of 1 of 26 exceeding those of the other U.S. forces.[10]
Bright city lights made it easier for German U-boats to spot targets at night, but local officials resisted suggestions that they follow London's lead and blackout the lights of coastal cities. However, some lights were darkened, including those of the amusement parks in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and the Coney Island Light, and Sandy Hook Lighthouse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yor...r#World_War_II
Also from Wikipedia, an animation simulating a tanker silhouetted against lights of a city (I would guess this is New York City/Long Island. Notice the simulated Ferris Wheel of Coney Island or the like. JB.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Noblackout.gif
Here's another source.
When America joined the war in December 1941, Admiral Doenitz immediately realized the dire implications to the German war effort. The United States, as a noncombatant, had already been helping - first England, then later, Russia - with shipments of food, arms and supplies. Now, America’s war machine was about to crank up to full gear.
Admiral Doenitz positioned his fleet accordingly and named his operation “Paukenschlag“, or “Drumbeat“. From January 1942, Doenitz ordered up to 12 U-Boats on continual patrol - from the Gulf of Mexico to the heart of America’s Eastern Seaboard. Between January and March of 1942, the U-Boats sunk 1.25 million tons of shipping, aided by the bright lights of New York, Miami and Atlantic City - all of which initially refused to impose a wartime blackout for fear of impacting tourism.
Lt. Commander Reinhard Hardegan, U-123, started the duck shoot by sinking the British freighter Cyclops near Nantucket, on 12 January 1942. Hardegan, who would sink seven ships that first week, noted the lights atop the Ferris Wheel on Coney Island as he sailed past.
http://www.american-partisan.com/col.../qtr1/0308.htm
Over and out. Boss says I have to stay off WakeWorld today.