I finally got my video portrait of Colonial Glass, one of the few remaining manufacturers thriving in Williamsburg, up on my site. It will also be on Comment Williamsburg shortly. I’m still working on a director’s statement, but would love to hear feedback or ideas for screenings. Thanks to Prof. Michael Gitlin for his feedback and also to the folks at Colonial for welcoming me into their workspace, especially Zach Weiner. I look forward to screening it for you all.
Sarah Nelson Wright
Reynaldo Santos
Hi my name is Reynaldo Santos my dad Luis Rivera has been working at Colonial Glass for 22 years. When i was little when he took me to his job a couple of times. Its great to see how much the company has enhance it self for the decade since i was last there. Im proud to this video cause it true and i hope colonial continue to rise with the new neigborhood Greenpoint is becomeing
Jacqueline
I saw your video on Fillmore Place. I spoke with Rozz two days ago and I told her that I wish you had interviewed people who have lived there as long as I have, 35 years. I have many wonderful memories growing up on Fillmore. There isn’t a day that goes by when I walk through the neighborhood that I don’t thank God that I was raised where I was. Fillmore has always been a family oriented place, a place we can truly call home. It is my comfort zone. It is a place where I go when I want to get away from all the insanity that surrounds us in this everyday life. I wish you could interview those of us who were born and raised on Fillmore. I guarantee you will not only get amazing stories but the glow from the joy within will be evident on our faces as we speak of our childhood memories of Fillmore. The block parties, the Sunday trips to Bear Mountain, Central Park, the Seven Lakes with all the neighbors, the volley ball games, wiffle ball, freeze tag, punch ball, etc. we could tell stories forever and we will keep you laughing and crying. The neighbors who have passed away – one was born on his mother’s kitchen table during WWII, the neighbor who was one of Hitler’s escaped prisoners – my father rescued her when her house caught on fire and brought her to live with us. We always thought she was so mean but getting to know her made us realize she was just hurting and scared. We had a neighbor who’s dog always escaped from the house (Lolly) and it became the afternoon chase. One family in particular was very adamant about having dinner together. It didn’t matter if we were in the middle of a game, dinner time was dinner time. They could come back out to play once dinner was over. We didn’t have cable television like the kids of today. There was HBO or WHT and not many of us could afford that. There weren’t video games like today that rob children of bonding with their families. There was Atari or Bally Arcade. We played with our friends, we played board games, we loved eachother to no end. In fact, some of us had the priviledge of raising our children on Fillmore and raising them with the same family-oriented values. Though many have moved away, we always keep in touch… You can’t take Fillmore out of our hearts.