My Brooklyn

76 minutes, documentary, 2012

produced with Allison Lirish Dean

Description

My Brooklyn follows director Kelly Anderson's journey, as a Brooklyn gentrifier, to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood. The film documents the redevelopment of Fulton Mall, a bustling African-American and Caribbean commercial district that - despite its status as the third most profitable shopping area in New York City - is maligned for its inability to appeal to the affluent residents who have come to live around it. As a hundred small businesses are replaced by high rise luxury housing and chain retail, Anderson uncovers the web of global corporations, politicians and secretive public-private partnerships that drive seemingly natural neighborhood change.

Highlights

Audience Award, Brooklyn Film Festival • Cinema Politica Audience Choice Award • Broadcast on America ReFramed (PBS World)

 
My Brooklyn has changed the narrative discourse on gentrification and development in New York City. It has made the gentrifier self-aware, and the long time resident empowered to stake claim.
— Lenina Nadal, Communications Director • Right to the City Alliance