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Past Event

Neighborhoods: A Study in Contrasts

April 6, 2018
7:30 p.m.
Maysles Documentary Center

The New York Preservation Archive Project hosted the screening of two films at Maysles Cinema in Harlem in partnership with Maysles Documentary Center.  

A panel led a Q&A and discussion after the two short films, one focused on the loss of the San Juan Hill neighborhood for Lincoln Center and one on the brownstone revival of Hamilton Heights:

The Case Against Lincoln Center
Newsreel, 1968, 12 min
 
More than 20,000 Latino families were displaced to make way for Lincoln Center, home to the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Symphony. This film examines the patrons of an art complex and the culture displayed there. Juxtaposing the atmosphere of Lincoln Center with the vibrant street culture of a displaced neighborhood, the film correctly predicts the process by which the West Side was to be turned into a high-rent area for the upper middle class.
 
A Sense of Pride: Hamilton Heights (on 16mm Film!)
Monica J. Freeman, 1977, 15 min
Monica J. Freeman’s serene portrait of Hamilton Heights at the peak of its brownstone revival is a testament to the cohesion and spirit of an African-American middle class fighting hard for its place in a depressed city, and, in the process, returning a grand old neighborhood to its rightful splendor.
 
Discussion moderator: 
 
John Reddick, Harlem Historian: John T. Reddick writes on Harlem’s architectural and cultural history and is currently researching its Black and Jewish music culture between 1890 and 1930. He has given lectures at the Apollo Theater and the Museum of the City of New York and led walking tours for El Museo de Barrio, Open House New York, and Harlem One Stop. Reddick has also spearheaded several of Harlem’s recent public space enhancement initiatives.
 
Panelists to include…
 
Yuien Chin, Hamilton Heights Preservationist: Yuien Chin has spearheaded two successful landmark preservation campaigns in Harlem’s Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill districts and is the executive director of Harlem One Stop, an online portal that focuses on promoting cultural events in upper Manhattan. 
 

George Calderaro: George Calderaro is an active New York City preservationist. Currently he is engaged with his NOMAD and Chelsea neighbors in advancing landmark status for Tin Pan Alley district. 

This event was FREE and open to the public.

Special thank you to the staff of Maysles Documentary Center and Elena Rossi-Snook of the Reserve Film and Video Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for helping to make this event happen!

This year’s People Preserving Place film festival was made possible in part by our gracious sponsors including City Winery, CTA Architects, K!ck Condiments, DZINENY and The Science of Color.

Location:
Maysles Documentary Center
343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard
New York, NY, 10027
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