Nyack
Open to Public Viewing on June 24 and July 7: What Happened to Jackson Avenue — A Story of Urban Renewal in 1960s Nyack
What Happened to Jackson Avenue: A Story of Urban Renewal in 1960s Nyack is a new documentary which captures the human impact of 124 predominantly Black families displaced from their homes, businesses and generations of accumulated wealth lost.
The first public screenings is Saturday June 24 at 8 p.m., and Friday, July 7 at 8 p.m. at the Nyack Center. Tickets are on sale, now. https://phoenixtheatreensembleorg.thundertix.com/events/213870
Per news direct here from the film’s producer Phoenix Theatre Ensemble in collaboration with Rivertown Films is a summary about the film and information about the gathering of artists and storytellers who have brought it to the screen:
“Urban renewal projects irrevocably changed the landscape of American cities and villages in the 1950s and 1960s. Although intended to stimulate economic and social ‘revitalization,’ many of these projects resulted in the destruction of entire communities.
Nyack has its own urban renewal story, now told in a new documentary through interviews with people who lived the experience. What Happened to Jackson Avenue offers real-life accounts of the human impact–deeply felt by the124 Nyack families, nearly 80% Black, who lost their homes, businesses and generations of accumulated wealth to ‘eminent domain.’
“This film is essential to an understanding of Nyack’s history, and provides an important case study of how even a small village was shaped by the broader forces driving urban renewal policies in the 1960s,” said Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Former NY State senator. The first public screenings will be held at The Nyack Center, located on South Broadway and Depew Avenue, on Saturday, June 24 and Friday, July 7 at 8 pm.
Tickets are on sale now for $25 in advance and $35 at the door.
Panel discussions following the 60-minute screenings will give audiences opportunities to hear live from storytellers interviewed in the film, as well as the documentary creators. Nyack activist, artist and historian Bill Batson (also in the film) will moderate.
Nicole Hines, President, Nyack NAACP, will join the June 24 panel. Hines comments: “Fair housing and home ownership continue to be key issues for the NAACP and for everyone we represent. We hope this film will advance the discussion and motivate change.”
The documentary was produced by the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, a New York City-grown theater company now with a home and annual live arts Festival in Nyack. The public screenings in Nyack are presented in collaboration with the Rivertown Film Society.
“This is a powerful film, and a service to our community as it acknowledges and learns from its history,” commented Don Hammond, Mayor of Nyack
Inspiration for the documentary sprang from a comment made by Batson in the summer of 2019 as he in stood in the main parking lot at the center of the village.
”This was Jackson Avenue. Our family home once stood here,” said Batson.
That spark set a creative process in motion–two-years of research, interviews, photography and editing undertaken by young filmmakers Hakima Alem and Rudi Gohl.
“June 12 marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights pioneer and NAACP leader Medgar Evers,” said Batson. “And with Juneteenth just days away, this an especially good time to reflect on the past, present and future of our own community. What Happened to Jackson Avenue challenges us to look back, and look ahead.”
ABOUT THE STORYTELLERS
Bill Batson is well known in the Nyack community as a leader, artist and historian. His grandmother’s family, the Avery’s, moved to Nyack in the late 1800s. They lived through, and spoke out against, urban renewal. His family home on Jackson Avenue was a casualty. Today, Batson is a columnist and featured contributor to Nyack News & Views, where his weekly Sketch Log chronicles the Nyack experience. Batson also manages the weekly Farmers Market for the Nyack Chamber of Commerce.
Faith Blount is a Nyack native who experienced urban renewal first-hand as a child. Her family lived with her grandparents in a house on Liberty street, with their dry cleaning business attached. While both their home and business were demolished during urban renewal, they received compensation for the residence only. Blount’s grandfather was a civil rights leader and founder of the NAACP chapter in Nyack. Blount is a teacher and a role model for young Black people wherever she goes.
Lonnie “Buster” Leonard is a Nyack native who grew up on Jackson Avenue in the 1950s. He experienced urban renewal as a teenager when he lost his home and saw his friends and community forced out. His family moved to High Avenue just before the demolition began. Their old home on Jackson Avenue was destroyed shortly thereafter.
Win Perry is a historian and architect who comes from a long line of Nyack locals. He currently resides in the house his family built in 1846. His grandson is the 12th generation of his family to live in Nyack. Perry worked for an architectural firm in Nyack during urban renewal and saw both sides of the process. Avid historian and past president of the local historical society, Perry currently serves as a member of the executive board. He was a member of the NAACP and has served as an educator on urban renewal and city planning.
Barbra Williams was born in Anniston, Alabama and moved to Nyack in the early 1960s just before urban renewal got under way. She was an avid member of the protests against the project. In 1965, she managed the campaign that won Heziekiah Easter a seat on the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees–the first Black person elected to public office in Rockland County. Williams was inducted into Rockland County’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2016 for her work in fighting discrimination against people of color and the disadvantaged. She describes herself as a storyteller, memory keeper and “ancestor in training.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Hakima Alem is an Ethiopian writer and film director. She moved to Nyack in 2018, and now resides in New York City. Alem graduated from Bard College in 2021. Her work centers on the lives of women of color, human rights and international adoption. She has worked on several documentary films and with multiple nonprofits. Before directing What Happened To Jackson Avenue, she was an assistant editor for the film Muicha, The Voice of Bossa Nova and created her own film titled Black at Bard 2020. Moving forward, Alem hopes to publish novels and continue creating and directing documentaries and other films.
Rudi Gohl is a filmmaker, documentarian and editor based in New York City. Since graduating from college in 2021, Gohl has worked extensively in New York, filming and editing music videos, short films, plays and documentaries. Offering a wide range of creative possibilities, the documentary format is of particular interest to Gohl. He has recently worked with the musical artist Chandrika Tandon, and multi-cultural artist Eljuri. He currently works as a junior assistant editor and post-production assistant for the award-winning documentary company Show of Force.
Faith Blount is a Nyack native who grew up in the midst of Nyack’s Urban Renewal Program. Her family lived with her grandparents, who owned a house on Liberty street that had their dry cleaning business attached. During Urban Renewal, they were compensated for their home as a residence only, not as a business. The Blounts moved to Orangeburg shortly after. Photo by Rudi Gohl
“Open Letter” from Craig & Elise for Phoenix
Phoenix Festival | Live Arts
in Nyack Returns for
2023 Fall Season!
September 22 to October 21
“World-class performances!”
– Hi! Drama
“Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is doing something wonderful in Nyack!”
– Broadway Radio
Hello neighbors, friends, families and Westchester arts enthusiasts.
It’s with great pleasure that we invite you to join the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble for our second annual Phoenix Festival – Live Arts in Nyack from September 22 to October 21.
The Festival offers an exciting mix of live theatre, dance and music for audiences of all interests and ages – a celebration of arts, history and local culture.
We’ll be presenting 30 performances featuring over 30 professional New York City artists on multiple stages in Nyack – our jazzy riverside village on the west bank of the Hudson, just a quick trip from the city or from Westchester across the bridge.
As one audience member described the 2022 Festival, “It’s an E-ZPass to outdoor theater heaven!”
Here are the 2023 highlights:
• Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment: A taut 90-minute, edge-of-your-seat stage version of this famous murder mystery
• The Wind in the Willows: A new interactive adaptation of the beloved novel for all ages, confirming the power of friendship and the courage to make a difference in the lives of others
• Pan American Male: A theatrical dance fable about a boy resisting the call to grow up too soon. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey’s Shawn Rawls
• Drinks With Dead Poets: UK award-winning poet, playwright, and actor Glyn Maxwell finds himself in a bar in Nyack, a village with the distinction of having the last open library in America. Maxwell, playing himself, encounters dead poets offering advice and ordering pints. Site-specific with a cash bar–an unforgettable evening
• Honduras: A deeply moving solo piece based on real life personal stories gathered from mothers and children at the US southern border in the summer of 2018
• Children’s Shakespeare Theatre: Young actors bravely present the best of the Bard in their special fall production
• Reflections from the Shallow End of the Dating Pool: Debbi Hobson’s play shines a light on the fraught and often farcical experience of mid-life dating
• Concert presented by ArtsRock, Rockland’s resource for professional arts and multi-cultural programs supporting underserved communities.
• The Importance of Being Earnest: Oscar Wilde’s frothy, funny, forever comedy–a Festival favorite selected by NYC’s Theatrescene as “one of the top ten productions of 2022”
Venues include the tented outdoor meadow stage at Marydell Faith and Life Center, the garden at Hopper House, the Nyack Center, the ‘little theater’ at Nyack’s RCC Culinary Arts Center and a classic Nyack restaurant/bar which a century ago served as the village courthouse and jail.
The Hudson River Museum amphitheater in nearby Yonkers will host a presentation of Honduras. Plus, Nyack itself will be onstage in a free, smartphone-based augmented reality walking tour of the village.
Along the way, you may want to check out Nyack’s one-of-a-kind retail shops, top-flight restaurants, friendly pubs, live music venues and vibrant night spots – over 100 businesses packed into a walkable space of just over one square mile. If you’d like some fresh air as part of your Festival itinerary, Nyack offers outstanding outdoor activities–bicycling, hiking along the river front, boat excursions and more.
You can begin to plan your Festival experience with a special offer for Westchester audiences – discounted early bird four-ticket flexible admission passes on sale from April 25 – July 15. Call 833-681-4800.
A word about us. Founded in 2004, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is an award-winning New York City theatre company that makes its second home in Rockland County, where we have created and performed both classics and original works since 2018.
Our mission is to present the great stories of the classical canon, as well as new adaptations and innovative stagings that speak to, and serve, contemporary audiences. We’re proud to be part of the Hudson Valley arts community, and excited about our 2023 Festival in Nyack.
Come explore, experience and enjoy the magic of world class performances in the Hudson Valley. See you at the Festival!
Enjoying The Skin of Our Teeth, Living Well After
Nyack, NY–Thornton Wilder’s fantastical tale arrives in the nick of time, yes, by The Skin of Our Teeth. If the wonderful, whimsical characters of The Skin of Our Teeth can survive calamities ranging from infidelity and parent/child strife to the, um, Ice Age (yes, the ICE AGE), then people, we’ve got ‘all this’ too. Under a brilliant blue sky–the bright sun kept autumn coolness at bay–so did sipping the complimentary hot apple cider, while watching the animated cast in this delightful and life affirming production at the lovely and lush Marydell Faith and Life Center. Seriously. Persevere, and don’t miss the next Live Arts in Nyack production, either, and discover Nyack before and after the productions.
Life mirrored art strangely post show, too! I returned to my car which was, heavens to Betsy, having trouble starting up. Had I left my lights on? A sense of panic kicked in, as I was meeting a new friend in town in FIVE minutes. I took a deep breath, and started it, though received blinking messages to check engine and brakes. But it was running, and no way I wasn’t going to town (with a mental note to self to take the car to the shop tomorrow!) So, by the Skin of my Own Teeth, I drove to Main Street, for more life affirming reminders, via a stroll through the last hour of a colorful Nyack Street fair, and soon after, over a delicious dinner and drinks at one of Nyack’s hot spots, the Hudson House. – Grace Bennett
Live Arts in Nyack Elicits Audience Delight Over Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
Bucolic Setting Drew Dozens of Theatre Goers Outdoors to Enjoy the Debut Earnest Performance; three more planned!
Nyack Arts Festival Performances to follow: The Skin of Our Teeth, (Shakespeare’s) Love Labour’s Lost, Special Events, Readings, Tributes, and More!
Discover Nyack, along the way!
Just Between Us: End of summer is always bittersweet, but this year there have been sweet theatre offerings to look forward to in September and October peppered with oh so cool opportunities for some ‘get to really know Nyack’ fun. No, allow me to revise that to sweet, spicy, and spectacular offerings, by way of the acclaimed Phoenix Festival, which lest I forget to remind you, has a robust lineup of blessedly live arts/outdoor professionally executed productions in different Nyack venues, a one man show and compelling key events–each ticket an ez pass to outdoor theater heaven. And there’s still time not to miss out, so just between us again, don’t delay. With the festival’s beautiful posters in practically every shop window, it’s safe to say that this delightful group of civic minded, socially conscious people (they are the real deal–determined to make theater going possible for all), have taken Nyack by storm and added more fun to Rockland County’s jewel of a village than I can remember. I was delighted to discover, for example, as I’ve never visited either venue before, first the elegance of the historic Edward Hopper House for a pre-opening party, and this past Saturday, the long-awaited opening of The Importance of Being Earnest opening at Marydell, a spiritual retreat, as its gorgeous host location. Oscar Wilde’s classic tour de force (“a three-act farce about double lives, clandestine impropriety, and the foibles of the upper crust😊”) took place on the Center’s expansive lawn (situated opposite thick woods with hiking trails–note to self: return for hiking). The 2.5 hour show was lovingly and professionally performed under a bright blue sky and balmy temps with two brief intermissions which offered a chance to talk to other theatregoers, or simply to grab water and a snack. Lots of laughs along the way–good for the heart and soul in these trying times. For an overview and more news of the production plus highlights of ‘what’s next’ courtesy of Craig Smith, Festival Executive Director, Elise Stone, Artistic Director, and Leo Lion, Associate Artistic Director, please read on! And true to the recommendation that visitors combine theater going with village exploring, my friend and I ventured into town post performance for some excellent Thai fare at Thai House, off Main Street. After she had to get going, I continued my stroll solo down Broadway, and treated myself to a raspberry ice cream cone at Piermont Creamery. Sweet and spectacular deserved a sweet and spectacular ending! I’m looking forward to enjoying more Live Arts performances. — Grace Bennett, Publisher & Editor, Inside Press
The first annual Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack opened on Saturday September 17 to a sold-out audience and critical acclaim.
The performance of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest was enthusiastically received by a packed audience and hailed by reviewers as a “very very fine production…so well done” (BroadwayRadio) and a “splendid outdoor production” (Theaterscene https://theaterscene.org/)
The performance marked the beginning of five weekends of live theater and special events – continuing through October 16 ─ hosted by the Phoenix Theater Ensemble of New York City fame, now with roots in Nyack.
The playbill includes three more performances of Earnest, set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 23–25 ─ all outdoors at bucolic Marydell Faith and Life Center in Upper Nyack with 2 p.m. show times.
After Earnest, next up on the Marydell stage is Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, opening on Saturday, October 1 for six performances spanning the remaining weekends to the Festival close on October 16.
On the Marydell stage for October 8 and 15, audiences of all ages can enjoy Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost presented by the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre company, performed by kids and for kids ─ and, of course, for adults.
Also along the way to mid-October, the Festival will offer a hilarious Chekov one-man play in the garden at the home (now museum) of Nyack artist Edward Hopper, as well as special events at locations around Nyack village, including a song cycle premiere inspired by Hopper’s paintings, poetry readings by local writers, and film and live performance tributes to Nyack resident and “first lady of the American theater” Helen Hayes.
A detailed calendar of Festival events is here: events page
For visitors interested in combining art and entertainment with an exploration of Hudson Valley culture, the Festival team has created a special program for this event – Nyack Digital Dreaming-AR Adventures, an exciting multimedia, family- and phone-friendly introduction to the village, its history, lore and legends
Digital Dreaming incorporates walking tour narratives, documentary video and augmented reality. It’s free, available every day, all day, online at Digital Dreaming: AR Adventures.
In addition to Festival activities, Nyack village offers a wealth of attractions ─ one-of-a-kind shops, world class dining, pubs, live music and a vibrant nightlife. Local businesses are inviting Festival-goers to explore the village ─ and enter their raffle for prizes valued at over $3,500.
“A big bonus for Festival goers is Nyack village itself,” said Craig Smith, Phoenix Festival Executive Director. “Nyack is the perfect anchor for this unique festival that blends classic theater, music and local history with breathtaking natural beauty in a jazzy, upbeat river town setting.”
TICKETS: Call 833-681-4800. Go to NyackArtsFestival.com
Or go to the “At a Glance” page on the Festival events page
TOURS: Ticket discounts for tours and groups of 10 or more are available at Tours and Group Sales. Or email info@PhoenixTheatreEnsemble.org for information.
GENERAL INFORMATION: Go to NyackArtsFestival.com , email at info@PhoenixTheatreEnsemble.org or leave a message at 212-465-3446.
Also see Visit Nyack at visitnyack.org for details, and on Facebook @VisitNyack and Instagram @visitnyack