Bringing Free Movies to Corlears Hook Park

In the summer of 2019, & with the support of Partnership for Parks, Friends of Corlears Hook Park (FoCHP) embarked on a visioning exercise to gather input from the community about their current usage of the park & what types of programs & events they would like to see offered in the park. The results showed that 11% of respondents wanted movies in the park. FoCHP has been lucky to occasionally secure movies in the park provided for free through the NYC Parks Department. These films have been heavily attended by not only members of the immediate community but by those who travel to the park just for that particular movie title being shown. Securing & scheduling movie screenings through NYC Parks has been challenging to do consistently since they have limited resources and many parks to show movies in. 

We have identified an outside vendor permitted to set up & screen movies in NYC parks but the cost is prohibitive which is why we are embarking on this fundraising campaign. Our hope is to raise enough money to contract with the vendor to bring a series of 3 film screenings to the park in the spring/summer of 2023.

Corlears Hook Park and the surrounding residential buildings are at the most eastern edge of the Lower East Side and as such, there are limited opportunities for residents to participate in local group activities. This is where Friends of Corlears Hook Park, in coordination with sister groups in nearby Luther Gulick Playground, Henry Jackson Playground, and Seward Park, come in. Together we plan and organize various activities in our parks (clean-ups, planting days, fitness classes, family events, etc.) to engage our local community and provide them an opportunity to enjoy and help improve the open spaces they have access to. Many people's mental health is suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By expanding our programming offerings we will be assisting the community in their health and wellness by providing an entertaining escape and exposing the residents to art and culture as all of the movies we show have been and will be family-friendly movie musicals or animated films. A study conducted by researchers at University College London and Vue Cinema found that people who watched movies experienced improved mental focus and fixation towards the movie. This focused watching (according to the study) helps to improve cognition and memory.