CM James Secures Additional Affordable Housing for BAM South; BPL Pacific Branch Spared from Sale, Demolition

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
JUNE 18, 2013

Contact: Aja Worthy-Davis (212) 788-7081

Council Member Letitia James Secures Additional Affordable Housing for BAM South Project
BPL Pacific Branch Spared from Sale, Demolition

(New York, NY)— On June 17, 2013, Council Member Letitia James voted to approve the development of BAM South, the planned 32-story tower next to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) being developed by Two Trees Management Company. The project was approved by a New York City Council.

In addition to the BAM South site, the City holds two additional sites in the Cultural District. The three development sites are expected to include approximately 900 apartments. Upon completion, 30% of two residential buildings will consist of affordable housing— an increase from the traditional 80/20 housing structure. BAM South, which represents a $135 million investment, will consist of a 32-story building containing approximately 300 residential units.

When completed, BAM South will also include a new public library, an extension of BAM’s cinema, and multiple performance spaces for cultural organizations. Additionally, the project will create a 16,000 square-foot publicly accessible plaza along Lafayette Avenue, and 22,800 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial space.

In a separate agreement with the administration, the Brooklyn Public Library’s Pacific Street branch was spared from sale to a private developer. The administration has committed to working with elected officials and community stakeholders to formulate a plan for service through an open process. A potential future change regarding the status of the library would require City Council approval. Additionally, Two Trees committed to including union workers in their construction bidding process

“I am pleased to again offer my support to BAM South, a project which will offer significant affordable housing to the Fort Greene community," said Council Member Letitia James. "I have always supported Two Trees’ vision for the project, and I believe it was important to ensure the project included significant community benefits such as increased affordable housing, maintaining the Pacific Street library, a commitment that cultural organizations utilizing the space will reflect the diversity of this community, and assurance that future utilization of the open space includes the input of all stakeholders.”

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A Message from Council Member Letitia James: Regarding BAM South

“Affordable housing and good-paying jobs for our community remain my top priorities as deliberations on the BAM South project continue. I remain concerned about the closure of a nearby historic library, and feel strongly that the project must address this unfortunate loss of public and community space.

Contrary to certain reports, I’ve never backed down from supporting the vision of BAM South, but I believe the project must deliver additional affordable housing units and jobs that middle-class and working-class New Yorkers can live with. These are not new demands, though they have received particular notice as the project vote draws near.

I feel strongly that all developments in the 35th District should seek to meet the unique needs of our diverse, growing community, and I believe that this project when finalized will do so.”

 - Council Member Letitia James

ActNow: New Voices in Black Cinema Festival Presented at BAM

ActNow Foundation, in conjunction with BAMcinématek and NYC Council Member Letitia James, kick off their programming year on February 16th—20th with New Voices in Black Cinema, the second annual five-day event reflecting the wide spectrum of views and themes within the African diaspora community in Brooklyn and beyond.

A home to ActNow film screenings since August 2009 (including last summer’s New York premiere of The Wonder Year- Kenneth Price’s documentary profile of Grammy Award-winning producer 9^th Wonder), BAMcinématek continues its partnership to provide exposure to new and compelling voices in Black independent cinema.

“We’re excited to continue our partnership with BAMcinématek,” says Aaron Ingram, Executive Director of ActNow Foundation. “Offering filmmakers the opportunity to present their stories in New Voices in Black Cinema and in our home borough allows us engage movie lovers from all walks of life with the diversity, inspiration, beauty, and complexity of films of the African diaspora.”

For tickets go to www.BAM.org or visit the BAMcinématek box office at 30 Lafayette St, Brooklyn, NY 11217. Call 718.636.4100 ext 1 for more details.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Click here for the 2012 Media Kit and call Curtis John at 347-274-0563 for local sponsorship and advertisement opportunities.

For press accreditation information, visit actnowproduction.org/press.

Job Opportunity- BAM Seeks Ticket Servers

The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is an internationally recognized presenter of contemporary performing arts and cinema. BAM seeks Part-time Ticket Services Representatives for its busy Ticket Services department. It is the responsibility of the Ticket Service Representative to provide customer service and ticket fulfillment to BAM’s customers.

Specific duties include, but are not limited to:
-Selling subscriptions and single tickets to live events
-Handling ticket exchanges and donations
-Scheduling bus reservations
-Providing general information regarding events, and directions to BAM venues
-Checking all completed work and preparing all outgoing mail
-Updating and maintaining the customer contact records
-Responding to customer questions and complaints: providing ticketing policies, facility information, trouble-shooting sales problems

Position Requirements
-At least 1 year of previous experience in one or more of the following areas: ticketing, phone sales, customer service and/or performing arts.
-Excellent written and verbal communication skills, must be detail and task oriented
-A working knowledge of computers: Microsoft Office Suite & typing skills
-The ability to collaborate and work
-An interest in and working knowledge of the performing arts is preferred
-Must be available to work weekends

Salary
$11.00 per hour for approx 25-30 hours per week (not eligible for benefits)

Please apply here.

REMINDER: Inaugural Cinema Festival Begins Black History Month

"Inaugural Festival by Brooklyn-Based Film Organization Opens Up Black History Month 2011 at BAMcinèmatek"

Read more here.

Inaugural Cinema Festival Begins Black History Month: ActNow, Council Member James & BAMcinematek

Inaugural Festival by Brooklyn-Based Film Organization Opens Up Black History Month 2011 at BAMcinèmatek

Brooklyn, NY - Fort Greene based ActNow Foundation, in conjunction with BAMcinématek and NYC Council Member Letitia James, presents a new film festival that directly reflects the wide spectrum of views and themes within the African diaspora communities in Brooklyn and beyond.

The New Voices in Black Cinema Festival is a multi-genre showcase of quality movies geared towards getting general and new audiences to appreciate Black independent film. Choosing excellence over spectacle and boldness over standard fare, this program pushes the gamut of showing how film explores Black society and provides exhibition to new voices, and existing ones.

Taking place February 4th to the 9th at BAM Rose Cinemas, this program is an extension of ActNow’s ongoing New Voices in Black Cinema screening series at BAMcinèmatek, which last summer premiered Idris Elba & Thomas Ikimi’s festival hit Legacy and in 2009 showed the stirring documentary on soul music legend Bill Withers, Still Bill. “This festival continues ActNow’s mission of giving independent filmmakers the opportunity to present their stories to audiences on a grand scale,” proclaims ActNow Executive Director Aaron Ingram. He continues, “Especially being in Brooklyn, they’ll be able to reach out to our borough’s diverse African diaspora and beyond.”

New Voices in Black Cinema features documentary films of cultural and socio-political significance like Coming Back For More (2009—Feb. 5 & 6), in which the search for reclusive soul music superstar Sly Stone takes documentary filmmaker & musician Willem Alkema on a memorable, musical journey of a lifetime. Heart of Stone (2009—screening Feb. 4 & 9), examines Newark’s Weequahic High School principal Ron Stone’s efforts in confronting the extra-violent gang problems in his school and the backlash from the once-proud Jewish alumni in what was once among the highest-rated schools in the USA and journalist Dream Hampton’s documentary Black August (2010—Feb. 4 & 6), showcases a grassroots movement’s efforts to raise awareness about political prisoners, featuring interviews with intellectuals and social activists such as Assata Shakur, as well as performances by Hip-Hop artists such as Brooklyn natives Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

The series also includes personal narrative films like Money Matters (2010—Feb. 7), award-winning filmmaker Ryan Richmond’s portrayal of a single mother and her teenage daughter, as well as Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us (2010—Feb. 4 & 7)—named one of the Best First Features in The Village Voice 2010 Film Critics’ Poll—starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington, about a former member of the Black Power movement returning home. Robert Heath’s SUS (2010—Feb. 4 & 7) a “sharply written, beautifully acted, and devastating critique of institutional racism,” (David Edwards, Daily Mirror) set entirely in a British interrogation room on election night in 1979, centers on two bigoted cops attempting to pin a murder on a man, played by Clint Dyer, who also produced.

The festival concludes on Feb. 9 with the ‘Brooklyn Block’ showcase of short films from local filmmakers, as well as a screening of Wendell B. Harris’ newly-restored Chameleon Street (1990—Feb. 9), inaugurating ActNow’s New Black Classics series. This race-examining satire based on the life of William Douglas Street, Jr.—played by the director himself—a Detroit con artist who successfully impersonated numerous professionals, became the first black film ever awarded Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize in 1990.

For more information about the New Voices in Black Cinema Film Festival, please contact Curtis John at curtis@actnowproduction.org or Donnet Bruce at donnet@actnowproduction.org or (347) 274-0563 and go to www.ActNowproduction.org. The contact for Council Member Letitia James is Amyre Loomis at aloomis@council.nyc.gov, (718) 260-9191.

For press and more information on BAMcinèmatek , please contact:
Gabriele Caroti at 718.724.8024 / gcaroti@bam.org
Matthew Yeager at 718.636.4129x1 / myeager@bam.org
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New Voices in Black Cinema schedule
Q&As with filmmakers at select screenings
Friday, February 4
2pm: Heart of Stone
4:30pm: SUS
6:50pm: Night Catches Us
9:30pm: Black August
Saturday, February 5
6:50pm: I Will Follow
9:30pm: Coming Back for More
Sunday, February 6
6:50pm: Coming Back for More
9:15pm: Black August
Monday, February 7
4:30pm: Night Catches Us
6:50pm: Money Matters
9:30pm: SUS
Wednesday, February 9
4:30pm: Heart of Stone
7pm: Brooklyn Block shorts
9:30pm: Chameleon Street

Website: www.actnowproduction.org
Blog: actnowfoundationfilmandtheater.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ActNowFoundation
Twitter: twitter.com/actnowfilmstage

General Information
BAM Rose Cinemas is located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place).
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue;
D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue
Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue
Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM
For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.
For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

ActNow, Council Member James, and BAM Present: Nurse.Fighter.Boy on Nov. 8th

ActNow: New Voices In Black Cinema, in Conjunction with BAMcinematek and NYC Council Member Letitia James, Presents: Nurse.Fighter.Boy

Monday, November 8th - Showtimes: 4:30pm, 6:50pm, and 9:30pm at BAMcinematek in Brooklyn, NY

NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY, 2008 (93 min): stars Clark Johnson, Karen LeBlanc & Daniel Gordon; is directed by Charles Officer; written by Charles Officer & Ingrid Veninger; and produced by Ingrid Veninger…

Dear Movie Lover,

ActNow: New Voices in Black Cinema, Council Member Letitia James, and BAMcinematek present Nurse.Fighter.Boy. The film, directed by Charles Officer, is a heartwarming tale about the Soul of a mother, the Heart of a fighter and the Faith of a child. The visually vibrant story finally comes to Brooklyn… For those of you coming to the 6:50pm showing - you are in for a special treat; we will be having an after party in the BAM lobby following the screening (and prior to the 9:30pm show). This is ActNow Foundation’s way of celebrating the film...toasting to the 2010 ActNow season and welcoming in the 2011 season!

Click here for a look at the trailer.
http://www.nursefighterboy.ca/

Award-winning Canadian love story Nurse.Fighter.Boy makes its Brooklyn premiere at “New Voices in Black Cinema” screening series at BAMcinèmatek on Monday. November 8!

CM James Hosts Act Now film "LEGACY" at BAM; 8/27

Act Now Foundation, Council Member Letitia James, and BAMCinematek Present: LEGACY starring Idris Elba, this Friday, August 27th. Times are 2pm, 4:30pm, 6:50pm and 9:30pm.

This is the BIGGEST endeavor yet for ActNow: New Voices In Black Cinema! Come out and support the best in Black film-making this Friday at BAM and see an amazing independent film starring the talented Idris Elba!

After the 6:50pm screening, come and meet the director of Legacy- Thomas Ikimi in a Q&A conducted by Shadow & Act's own Tambay Obenson. The director will be in attendance at all 4 showtimes.

Get your tickets in advance by going to BAM's website.

CM James, ActNow Fdtn Extends Invitation To ActNow Film, "Inside A Change"; 4/8; BAM Rose

Council Member James invites the community to a special film screening at BAM on Thursday, April 8th:

ActNow: New Voices In Black Cinema
"Inside a Change"

Thursday, April 8, 2010
Showings: 4:30PM, *6:50PM, 9:30PM

BAM Rose Cinema
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11243


*The 6:50PM showing includes a Q&A with director Rik Cordero

CM James and Act Now Fdtn Present BAM Film Screening on African Diaspora

You are invited: Council Member Letitia James, ActNow Foundation and BAMcinematek present-

ActNow: New Voices in Black Cinema with a screening of 6 Things I Never Told You. This series was developed to focus on independent feature films that mirror the experiences of the African Diaspora.

Contact: Amyre Loomis at the Office of Council Member James - (718) 260-9191
____________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Aaron Ingram
Phone: 347.274.0563
Email: aaron@actnowproduction.org

6 Things I Never Told You Premieres as Inaugural Film in the “New Voices In Black Film” Screening Series at BAMcinèmatek

New York, NY– August 2009- ActNow Foundation, in conjunction with Council Member Letitia James, is partnering with the historic, world-renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to usher in its new ongoing screening series, “Act Now: New Voices In Black Film.”

Focusing on true independent feature films that mirror the experiences of the African diaspora, the inaugural film in this series is 6 Things I Never Told You, a collaboration of six very different films under one banner by six award-winning NYU Graduate Film Program alums, best described by them as an “anthology of cinematic snapshots examining committed romantic relationships in flux.” Each film centers on a significant landmark in the time line of relationships that are either renewed, dominated or lost, but all longing for one thing: control.

Breaking from standard relationship film fare, 6 Things… examines Black sex and sexuality without showing the act of sex. “Showing sexuality without showing sex allowed us, and the filmgoers, to explore the relationships on a different level,” says “Thing Two - The Cable Box” director Cinque Northern. “Black love and sex on the silver screen tends to not be nuanced,” explains Northern, “with 6 Things…, we show this love in different forms.”

Working collaboratively to release one film is experimental enough, but the self described “6 Leagues” took the experiment even further. Choosing ‘randomness’ as one of the underlying guidelines for each film, at their first meeting they picked a book off “KING - Thing Five” director Caran Hartsfield’s shelf, Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, and picked one random line from the book as the basis for their films, interpreted by each filmmakers sensibilities.

Northern further describes the experience of 6 Things I Never Told You as a “total, artistic experiment that challenged [the filmmakers] and aims to challenge to film going audience from the standard movies on Black relationships that we’ve been inundated with for years.”

Starring Jamie Hector (HBO’s The Wire), Novella Nelson (Antwone Fisher), Hassan Manning, Cherise Booth, Dominique Morriseau, Leopold Lowe, and Lela Aisha Jones, 6 Things I Never Told You will be shown at BAMcinématek on August 27th, 2009. For more information, go to www.ActNowproduction.org.

ActNow Foundation is a non-profit 501c(3) theatre & film organization, based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, which focuses its productions on the full range of African-American & Latino experiences in New York City, throughout the United States and around the globe.

Letitia James is the New York City Council Member for Brooklyn’s 35th Council District. Elected in November of 2003, she proudly represents the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights, as well as parts of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Council Member James is a Brooklyn native; she chairs the Contracts Committee and serves on the committees for Economic Development, Parks & Recreation, Small Business, Government Technology, Veterans and Women’s Issues.

BAMcinématek, Brooklyn's only daily, year-round repertory film program, presents new and rarely seen contemporary films, classics from cinema history, work by local artists and festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors and other guests. BAMcinématek has not only presented major retrospectives by well-known filmmakers, but has also introduced New York audiences to contemporary artists. BAMcinématek is part of the greater Brooklyn Academy of Music arts community, America's oldest continuously operating performing arts center founded in 1861.

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Websites:
http://www.actnowproduction.org
http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=1429
http://letitiajames.info