Pier 42 on the East River Waterfront.
In the next several days, there will be a couple of opportunities to become engaged in the future of Pier 42. Back in November of 2011, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. set aside $16 million for the future development of the pier as a park. Coming up on Sunday, the Parks Department and State Sen. Daniel Squadron (who helped secure the government funding) will lead community members on a tour of the pier, which includes an abandoned shed and a parking lot.
In addition to the tour, there will be an opportunity to discuss “interim uses” for the area. Several organizations, including Hester Street Collaborative,would like to stage cultural and community oriented programs on the pier, as a way of “reclaiming” a space that has been underutilized for so many years. The visioning for the park and its construction will be a very long process, and a lot more money will be necessary to make the project a reality. Sunday’s tour begin
City kids involved in Youth Made Media learn videography and software skills.
Our friends at the City Parks Foundation sent over some pictures of a program they held at Hamilton Fish Recreation Center last week. Youth Made Media (YM2) teaches 350 teenagers age 13 to 19 from low-income communities in all five boroughs skills such as video and audio production, media literacy and new media. The students create movies, documentaries and narratives, as well as explore careers and workplaces.
They produce original shows for the Public Access Youth Network and some of the students get to show their work at Tribeca Cinemas at the end of the program. For more info, check out the City Parks Foundation’s website.