1.5 Million Documentary Screening at Lehman College

"1.5 Million" a documentary film by Bronx native filmmaker Gregory Hernandez of Green Canvas Productions!

Schedule:

Doors open at 6:00pm Networking & Mingling (Snacks & Refreshments Provided)

Welcome Remarks + Screening at 6:30pm (Subtitles in Spanish)

Q & A at 8:00pm

Location/Directions:

Lehman College is located on Bedford Park Boulevard West and Goulden Avenue in a residential area in the northwest Bronx, south of Van Cortlandt Park and west of the New York Botanical Garden-near the border of Westchester County. The 37-acre campus is situated between the Kingsbridge and Bedford Park neighborhoods, along the historic Jerome Park Reservoir. Lehman's neighbors along the reservoir include Bronx High School of Science, Walton High School, and DeWitt Clinton High School. The campus is easy to reach by car and by public transportation. Ample parking is available for a nominal fee. In addition, 6-hour munimeters are available along Goulden Avenue and Bedford Park Boulevard.

By Train

IRT No. 4 or the IND "D" line to Bedford Park Boulevard. The campus is a three-minute walk to the west. For more information about subway service to the Lehman campus, call the New York City Transit Authority at (718) 330-1234. Metro North's Harlem line has a local stop at the Botanical Gardens station. The campus is about 12 blocks due west on Bedford Park Boulevard. Call Metro North for information about fares and schedules (212) 532-4900.

By Bus

Nine Bronx buses including the 2, 10, 22, and 28 have stops at Lehman College. Liberty Lines BXM4 express buses from Manhattan stop near the campus, at Bedford Park Boulevard and the Grand Concourse. Good connections are available on Westchester 20 or 20X buses from White Plains, Hartsdale, Scarsdale, and Yonkers via Central Park Avenue. The No. 4 from Yonkers also stops near the campus. For more information about taking a bus to the Lehman campus, call (718) 330-1234 (Bronx buses) or (718) 652-8400 (Liberty Lines) or (914) 682-2020 (Westchester buses).

By Car

From Manhattan - East Side
Via East River Drive to Willis Avenue Bridge (or Triborough Bridge - Bronx spur) to Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) north to Van Cortlandt Park South
exit. Follow directions from the Major Deegan Expressway.

From Manhattan - West Side
Via West Side Highway north (it becomes Henry Hudson Parkway) to Mosholu Parkway exit. Follow directions from the Henry Hudson Parkway.

From Westchester

• Via New York State Thruway (I-87) south (it becomes Major Deegan Expressway) to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Follow directions from the Major Deegan Expressway.
• Via Saw Mill River Parkway south (it becomes Henry Hudson Parkway) to Mosholu Parkway exit. Follow directions from the Henry Hudson Parkway.
• Via Bronx River Parkway south to Gun Hill Road exit. Make a right from exit ramp and take Gun Hill Road West to Jerome Avenue. Turn left onto Jerome, following the elevated subway line above to W. 205 Street. Turn right, and proceed two short blocks to Goulden Avenue. Make a left onto Goulden Avenue and proceed one block. Campus is on the left.

From Queens and Eastern Long Island

• Via Grand Central Parkway to Triborough Bridge - Bronx spur to Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) north to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Follow directions from the Major Deegan Expressway.
• Via Throgs Neck Bridge or Whitestone Bridge to Cross Bronx Expressway west to Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) north to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Follow directions from the Major Deegan Expressway.

From New Jersey
Via George Washington Bridge to Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) north to Van Cortlandt Park South exit. Follow directions from the Major Deegan Expressway.

From the Major Deegan Expressway
Exit at Van Cortlandt Park South. From the south, bear left along the fork of the exit ramp and make a left at the traffic light. From the north, make a left at the traffic light. Proceed up the winding hill for 4 traffic lights. Immediately after 4th traffic light, make a quick right onto Goulden Avenue. Proceed two long blocks to Bedford Park Boulevard West, where the campus begins. The parking lots are on your right.

From the Henry Hudson Parkway
Exit at Mosholu Parkway. Proceed on long exit ramp. At the second traffic light, before subway underpass, turn right onto Paul Avenue for two long blocks. At
Bedford Park Boulevard, turn right and then left onto Goulden Avenue. The parking lots are on your right.

Synopsis:

1.5 Million explores the political and economic forces that have brought about this literacy crisis in The Bronx, specifically, District 7 which is located in the south Bronx. With a lack of school libraries, classroom libraries, books within the community, bookstores, robust marketing by the NYPL in The Bronx and decades of divestment to education, a literacy crisis has come to fruition in The Bronx. Born from the stereotypes that people in The Bronx do not read and are only known for having interests in sneaker and liquor stores; it is not by coincidence that access to literature has a profound effect on the culture of reading. As of 2016, only 56% of high school graduates in The Bronx are college ready. Poverty is a major factor, with 40% of children in the South Bronx living below the poverty line. A child raised in poverty is 13 times less likely to finish high school on time, if at all.

70 percent of third grade students in The South Bronx are unable to read at their grade level. The New York City Department of Education has found that children who fail to meet the third grade benchmark are more likely to drop out of high school and remain in poverty. The South Bronx has the poorest congressional districts in the nation and has the most unemployed, according to a 2016 report by South Bronx Rising Together (SBRT)

Director's Statement:

The title of the film is derived from the estimated population total of the Bronx as of 2019, which is 1.5 Million. During the first two years of production, there were zero bookstores in operation in The Bronx, making it the only borough within New York City to have this dubious honor.

Filmed over four years, 1.5 Million brings us The Bronx from 1997 when the borough had only two bookstores, to 2019 when the borough was without a single chain or independent bookstore, until the opening of The Lit Bar. Since then, more bookstore ventures have launched. In addition to bookstores, The Bronx went from having only two little free libraries in 2018 to over twenty-five in operation as of 2022. The NYPL has increased its marketing and accessibility initiative by re-launching its Book Mobile program in 2019.

I wanted to make this film because I believe this is a film that needs to be made and seen. I’m from The Bronx and have a personal stake in leveraging my skills as a filmmaker to improve my immediate surroundings. This literacy crisis can be ended within a generation if the necessary steps are taken. First and foremost, this documentary has a goal to bring this crisis to the NYS legislative agenda and the national agenda.

In 2014, I was looking for a bookstore for a short scene in a film I was directing and I could not find any bookstore near me. I remember being upset, yet strangely not surprised. I wanted to leave this borough for California, yet two years later, I heard that The Bronx was in jeopardy of losing its last bookstore. When I read about Noelle Santos’ move to bring a bookstore, I knew right at the moment, this needs to be a documentary.

Get in touch with Gregory and his team:

Website: https://onepointfivemillion.com/

Email: 1.5millionbronxdoc@gmail.com

Social Media: 1.5million_documentary/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcwVUpuBV_4&t=2s