One of the most magical experiences I have had living on Roosevelt Island was walking on down to Southpoint Park to watch a Summertime movie with the Manhattan and Queen's skylines surrounding the "theatre". From getting off the Red Bus to walking up the lighted path passed the Renwick Ruin / Smallpox Hospital the entire experience was something you would never get anywhere else. Unfortunately it appears that for this year that experience will not be happening.
According to the upcoming events page on the RIOC website this year's summer movie series will be held at Firefighter's Field. Now before you start looking at the graphic below I am sure the folks at RIOC will make a great production. I trust Erica Wilder and Donna Masley and the other fine RIOC folks to do a good job by us but with the lights and sounds of Red and Q102 Buses arriving and leaving the Tram station not to mention the noise eminating from the Queensboro Bridge there is only so much they can compensate for.
And I am sure they would position the screen so that the Keyspan Plant is behind us and not behind the screen but again if the wind is working against us we may even be unfortunate enough to smell the plant (granted it's a extremely extremely rare event and I've only heard this secondhand) which would just not work with most movies.
I am guessing the reasons to move the movie series involve perhaps the upcoming contruction of the Wild Gardens Park at Southpoint or perhaps the stabilization of the Smallpox Hospital and I have asked for clarification and I am sure I will get a prompt response but the knowledge that we will not get another chance at watching a movie with those panoramic views with the looming possibility of the FDR Memorial Trees taking it away in the future is a great loss.
Sure movies may return to Southpoint in the future but it just won't be the same.
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Once again what sounds like a sensible rationale for doing something is being given as an answer to your question. But changing the venue of these movies is something that significantly decreases the whole movie going experience. It's also taking the easy way out. The first movies shown at SouthPoint were accessible to everyone. The hospitals were part of the organizing team and quite graciously gave their bus to the team for use during the events. Seniors and disabled were picked up on Main St. and driven up the East Side path right to the southern tip, where chairs had been set up for them. During the showing, the bus stood by and made several trips back for anyone who didn't want to stay until the end.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ask them to do this again? And, if they did ask and were turned down, how about asking the residents for a solution? A fund raiser to cover the cost of a bus could have been done, or a donation box at the showings, or a million other options.
I disagree with your statement that "...the idea is to watch the movies anyway." Outdoor movies are as much about the venue as they are about the movie. In fact the movie selection is almost an afterthought. If you want to see a particular movie, you can go to any theater you want and watch in comfort. Outdoor movies are more of a total experience.
The whole point of showing these movies in the first place was to introduce residents to SouthPoint Park, which had been closed for years. It was an attempt to get people down to that end of the Island to show them how terrific that area is and what kind of events could be done down there. With all the new residents on the Island, it's a perfect time to do this again.
Were the residents asked if they wanted a change of venue, or was the decision made in RIOC without input from their customers (the residents)? It's not too late to change the location back!
Once again what sounds like a sensible rationale for doing something is being given as an answer to your question. But changing the venue of these movies is something that significantly decreases the whole movie going experience. It's also taking the easy way out. The first movies shown at SouthPoint were accessible to everyone. The hospitals were part of the organizing team and quite graciously gave their bus to the team for use during the events. Seniors and disabled were picked up on Main St. and driven up the East Side path right to the southern tip, where chairs had been set up for them. During the showing, the bus stood by and made several trips back for anyone who didn't want to stay until the end.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ask them to do this again? And, if they did ask and were turned down, how about asking the residents for a solution? A fund raiser to cover the cost of a bus could have been done, or a donation box at the showings, or a million other options.
I disagree with your statement that "...the idea is to watch the movies anyway." Outdoor movies are as much about the venue as they are about the movie. In fact the movie selection is almost an afterthought. If you want to see a particular movie, you can go to any theater you want and watch in comfort. Outdoor movies are more of a total experience.
The whole point of showing these movies in the first place was to introduce residents to SouthPoint Park, which had been closed for years. It was an attempt to get people down to that end of the Island to show them how terrific that area is and what kind of events could be done down there. With all the new residents on the Island, it's a perfect time to do this again.
Were the residents asked if they wanted a change of venue, or was the decision made in RIOC without input from their customers (the residents)? It's not too late to change the location back!