Next week’s LES Heritage Film Series screening at the Seward Park Library will focus on the socioeconomic conditions downtown in NYC in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Three short films will be presented – one about Crosby Street in 1975, one about a community mural that was made with children from the Henry Street Settlment in 1964 and one from Chinatown in 1970. Make sure you get a chance to check out these historical gems from the neighborhood:
Crosby Street (1975, 18 min., 16mm)
Director Jody Saslow takes a look at the various economic, social, and aesthetic strata on a New York City street. Includes interviews with residents and merchants and scenes of the homeless.
The Mural on Our Street (1964, 18 min., 16mm)
Kirk Smallman and Dee Dee Halleck show children and other members of the Henry Street Settlement House as they make drawings of zoo animals for a large tile mural to be used in a new building in their neighborhood. Follows the processes involved in making the tiles and shows views of the completed mural.
The Trouble with Chinatown (1970, 26 min., 16mm)
Originally televised on WNBC’s New York Illustrated, producer and writer, Bill Turque’s survey of the social and educational structure of New York’s Chinatown and its current problems due to increased immigration, the generation gap, and changing socio-political conditions. Includes interviews with leading Chinese-American citizens.
The series offers documentary and feature films that were shot on location in lower Manhattan on both 16mm and DVD formats. Films are screened on the first Tuesday of every month, in the Community Room downstairs at the Seward Park Library. FREE // 6:30pm // Tuesday, April 5th // 192 East Broadway.
