Now Completed – “Miracle on 42nd Street”
A seventy minute documentary about the untold history and impact of the Manhattan Plaza apartment complex in New York City. Starting with the background of the blighted Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and the building’s initial commercial failure in the mid-1970s, the story recounts how – in a moment of bold inspiration or maybe desperation – the buildings were “re-purposed” as subsidized housing for people who worked in the performing arts, becoming one of the first intentional, government supported, affordable housing for artist residences. The social experiment was a resounding success in the lives of the tenants, as well as the neighborhood and local economy…… The film features on-camera interviews with people whose lives were positively impacted by the complex, including Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard, Donald Faison, Larry David and Samuel L Jackson, Angela Lansbury, and many others.
“Miracle on 42nd Street” is more than a documentary. It’s a story of the power of community filled with unlikely mixes of people interacting and finding empowerment, love, and enlightenment.” — Reel Honest Reviews
Visit the official Miracle on 42nd website for latest news and screening schedule
The editing on this film is superb. Was it a challenge to weave together so many different stories?
The editing was one of the most difficult parts of the project. Of course we had to figure out a way to weave together the history of the neighborhood, the stories of the people who were the urban pioneers in the late ’70s, and the stories of the people who went on to succeed..….. Our editors, Lisa Shreve and Arash Ayrom, figured out a way to cut it all together. By the way, Lisa Shreve is an original Manhattan Plaza resident who still lives there today, so she was passionate about the film and worked tirelessly through the years and listened to all input and suggestions.
