really crazy swimmers who, despite the freezing temperatures, insist on stripping down and jumping into the nearest body of frigid water. >> never understood this, but yesterday in coney island, one group did it very good reason. here's matt cotar from wnbc. ♪ it's a brand new year >> reporter: if you didn't know it was new year's, you might think it was halloween if you were on the coney island boardwalk. >> unbelievable experience. >> reporter: popeye, cleopatra and this guy are here to plunge into the atlantic, part of the coney island polar bear club. but this year's annual new year's day swim takes on a special significance after superstorm sandy badly damaged coney island and its famous boardwalk. money raised from the swim will go to a nonprofit called coney recovers. >> what we're aiming to do with the funds raised today in partnership with the polar bear club is help out not for profits in the area. >> reporter: as for these arctic