Vol. 35, No. 9 First Class U.S. Postage Paid — Permit No. 4119, New York, N.Y. 10007nyc.gov/nycha September 2005

By Heidi Morales

Selena Blake and co-producer Gregory Larkin in front of Queensbridge Houses. For more information, log on to http://spaces.msn.com/members/maynovproductions or e-mail Ms. Blake at maynovproductions@msn.com.

BY NOW, I’M SURE WE’VE ALL BEEN EXPOSED TO THE NEGATIVE PORTRAYAL OF PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MEDIA. But those who have lived and continue to live in public housing know that there are good, hard working, community-minded people residing in public housing developments. There are people who make it their life’s work to serve their community.

One woman in a small, cluttered apartment—visual proof of nearly 20 years of habitation, is trying to change the image of “the projects.” Selena Blake—long-time resident of NYCHA’s largest development, Queensbridge Houses, single mom, part-time model, actress, caterer, and now full-time documentary film producer— is trying to show the world that public housing is home to many good people.

Ms. Blake has decided to thank the Queensbridge Houses community for all of the years of friendship, care and loyalty it has shown her and her family by producing a documentary, an oral history of sorts, of “The Bridge” as it is known by many. It was after her son Daniel graduated from high school that Ms. Blake realized that a lot of what she and her son were able to accomplish was because of the “family” she had created at the development.

Ms. Blake said living at The Bridge has been a godsend. “I looked back and I said, wow, there are some really good people here. I’d love to just show the other side of Queensbridge. I’ve been on Park Avenue, I’ve been in the Atrium on 57th and Park Avenue where my girlfriend lives…and believe it or not I prefer being in Queensbridge. It feels like home; I’m comfortable here, the people know you…I don’t get that anywhere else.”

However, Ms. Blake, who moved to Queensbridge with her mother and son in 1987 from their home in Jamaica, wasn’t always a believer. “It took me a couple of years of blending in, the neighbors baby-sitting for me, the upstairs neighbors, and the downstairs neighbors. My mom was on dialysis; they would help with the wheelchair coming up…they were very helpful. It’s amazing how we judge things by the way we think things should be and we put them in that little box.” So in an effort to say “thank you” to her Queensbridge family, Ms. Blake took every cent she had and hired a professional film crew for a little over $1000 a day to record the stories of the people of The Bridge.

Five weeks later the funds were gone and the project was nowhere close to being finished. It wasn’t until she met her current co-producer, Gregory Larkin, at a networking mixer that the project really took off Mr. Larkin is the technical brain of  this project and Ms. Blake is the creative genius behind it. “I wasn’t supposed to be doing this; I was just supposed to give guidance, consulting services,” said Mr. Larkin.

But “Queensbridge: The Other Side” has become a full-time job for Mr. Larkin who puts in an average of 15 hours a day recording and editing. His belief in this documentary is so great that this seasoned media professional is doing all this for only $200 a month. Now with over $50,000 in debt between credit cards and small business loans, and thousands of dollars invested in recording and editing equipment, Ms. Blake still needs just as much to finish putting her documentary together.

She has interviewed over 115 people and has about 75 hours of footage including still pictures from the 1930’s and 1940’s, that were given to her by residents, or that she’s been able to find in the LaGuardia Archives. She’s even interviewed a group of Jewish women who lived in Queensbridge in the 1940’s. Ms. Blake and Mr. Larkin hope their documentary inspires other filmmakers to explore the hidden history and the “diamonds in the rough” of public housing. They hope to see “Queensbridge: The Other Side” on PBS and the local television channels.

 “I hope just to see it out there because people need to check the stereotype at the door and come open your mind and take a look at this…At least I know a seed is planted and somehow you are going to see housing projects and the people in them in a different light,” said Ms. Blake.

Mr. Larkin added that working on the documentary has helped him appreciate what he called, “the silent majority—the good hard-working people of ‘the projects. ’Now I’m the biggest advocate for public housing! ” Ms. Blake said she plans to use any proceeds gathered from the film to help build another community center, and she challenges celebrities like NBA star Ron Artest and rapper Nas, who have come out of Queensbridge and are part of the documentary, to give back to the community.

She plans to have the film completed this month.