Entertainment

Documentary Film “1.5 Million” Deals with Illiteracy in The Bronx

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
There was outrage in The Bronx when the last general-interest bookstore, Barnes & Noble, shut down permanently in 2017. Many Bronxites saw it as evidence that the borough is not viewed in a positive light and is forgotten when it comes to its intellectual curiosity. For filmmaker Gregory Hernandez, the turmoil gave him an idea to tell a story about illiteracy in the borough. The result is the film “1.5 Million: A Bronx Documentary” which, as preadvised, screened at the Pelham Parkway-Van Nest branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) on Aug. 28.

UPDATE Friends of Devoe Park Launch Art Workshop Series Starting Sept. 16

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Friends of Devoe Park (FoDP), a volunteer group organized in 2017 by CATALYST, a City Parks Foundation subsidiary, is kicking off an art workshop series, coinciding with the back-to-school season. The series comprises two events, the first of which takes place on Saturday, Sept. 16. According to the organizers, around ten local children will receive “a paint and arts bundle” to learn how to paint and later to take home their finished visions of Devoe Park.

MMCC Restorative Justice Program Participants Paint Community Mural to Highlight Mental Health Awareness

By DAVID GREENE
Participants in Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC)’s Restorative Justice Program were joined by community members as well as participants in other programs offered by the Norwood-based community center for the 2023 Bronx Paint Fest Party on Saturday, May 13. During the free event, organized by NYC Mural Arts Project and other groups, the group spent the afternoon painting the mural, which had as its theme positive mental health, on one of the outdoor walls of the Center which is located at 3450 Dekalb Avenue between East Gun Hill Road and Kossuth Avenue in Norwood. In addition to the mural painting, there was also music, food, games, and a general focus on wellness.

UPDATE Kingsbridge Armory Gets Funding Boost of $200 Million as NWBCCC Aim to Retain Ownership

By SÍLE MOLONEY
With a few notable exceptions, including Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, everyone who was anyone in terms of Bronx elected officials was present for a high-profile press conference held inside the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory on Tuesday, Aug. 8, when it was announced that the armory redevelopment project is to receive a major boost in the form of City and State-backed funding of $200 million.

Allerton Coops Art Exhibit Shows African American Histories of Early Bronx Interracial Housing Complex

By SÍLE MOLONEY
In celebration of “Black August,” and as the first offering of a multi-year, research project at The Bronx County Historical Society, the Museum of Bronx History opened “The Allerton Coops, In Living Color” exhibit on Saturday, Aug. 12. According to representatives of the museum, the exhibit recovers the histories of African American and multiracial residents of the Allerton Coops, located at 2700 Bronx Park East, one of the earliest interracial housing complexes in The Bronx.