On Wednesday, November 19, at 7:00pm, the Billie Holiday Theatre Film Series will show a screening of My Brooklyn, followed by a critical dialogue on the issue of gentrification.
My Brooklyn is a documentary about Director Kelly Anderson's personal journey, as a Brooklyn "gentrifier," to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood along lines of race and class. The story begins when Anderson moves to Brooklyn in 1988, lured by cheap rents and bohemian culture.
Anderson outlines how, following Michael Bloomberg's election as mayor in 2001, a massive speculative real estate boom began to rapidly alter the neighborhoods she has come to call home. She watches as an explosion of luxury housing and chain store development spurs bitter conflict over who has a right to live in the city and to determine its future.
While some people view these development patterns as ultimately revitalizing the city, to others, they are erasing the eclectic urban fabric, economic and racial diversity, creative alternative culture, and unique local economies that drew them to Brooklyn in the first place. It seems that no less than the city's soul is at stake.
Following the film screening will be a panel discussion of the film and subject, led by:
- Councilman Robert Cornegy, District 36 Council Member
- Shana Jackson, Owner Weecreatebk
- Michael Lambert, Executive Director BedStuy Bid
- Dominique Morisseau, Playwright
- Morgan Munsey, Realtor/Historian
- Wayne Winborne, BHT Board Chairman
- Moderated by Colvin W. Grannum, President BSRC
The Billie Holiday Theatre is located at 1368 Fulton Street in Restoration Plaza. Tickets are $10.
