By Tony Richards
Editor-in-Chief

After months of work, local resident José Gonzalez, who has lived in the community for 8 years, unveiled the trailer for the documentary he is directing and producing, “Highbridge: Past, Present, and Future”.  A small crowd of community members and potential funders gathered in the Sacred Heart auditorium on December 4 to watch the trailer and to hear from Gonzalez, as well as others instrumental in the film project, including co- producer Chauncy Young and production assistant Analiz Figueroa. The event was emceed by 26-year Highbridge resident O’Cynthia Williams, an education activist and founding member of United Parents of Highbridge (UPOH).

The roughly 12-minute trailer represents a brief first glimpse into what is eventually slated to be a full-length movie divided into three sections. The first section will focus on the period from 1600-1848; a time which included the construction of the High Bridge and Croton Aqueduct, the first water source that was able to supply water to all of New York City and enable it to grow into its current status as a five-borough metropolis. The second segment will cover the period from 1848-1963, and the final segment will trace the past three or four decades of Highbridge history, from the era in the 1960s and 1970s when landlords burned down deteriorating buildings to collect profit, to the present period of economic development.

Gonzalez fought back tears as he addressed his viewers.  “This is a beautiful community,” he told the audience, adding one reason the night was so emotional for him was the amount of work that had gone into the trailer: During the several months that he and his crew spent so far on the project, they paid entirely out-of-pocket for cameras and other materials, and Gonzalez worked during whatever free time was left after his paid regular job as a video editor . “We sacrificed our jobs and our families by doing this trailer,” Gonzalez said.

When completed, “Highbridge Past, Present, and Future”, which will be released in three languages – English, Spanish, and Soninke— will incorporate interviews with longtime Highbridge residents, archival news footage, and modern-day images of the community.

The trailer begins by displaying basic facts about Highbridge, including that the neighborhood has roughly 34,000 residents and derives its name from the High Bridge. Over the next few minutes, local residents who appear on screen include former Community-Board 4 member Anita Antonetty and Regina Williams, both of whom discuss their experiences being part of some of the first African-American families in Highbridge; Cali Rivera, the owner of JCR Percussion on Ogden Avenue and 162nd Street, who has made instruments for world-renowned Latin-music stars like Tito Puente; and Jim Fairbanks, chief of staff for Councilmember Helen Diane Foster, who recounts how Highbridge residents shut down Ogden Avenue in the 1970s to demand a new elementary school.

The trailer also features images of an old movie theater on Ogden Avenue, and the long-defunct elevated train that formerly cut through Highbridge on its way across the Bronx.  Modern-day footage of the neighborhood includes images of the new Yankee stadium being built, as well as the October 17 community forum and march to demand a new middle school.

Gonzalez said after the trailer premiere that he thought the film would help Highbridge residents connect with the rich personal history of their neighbors. “I think they [the audience] were impressed to see people in their community that they were just seeing around,” Gonzalez said. “And now they have seen a little more history of these members.”   As an example, the film will feature Lorenzo Dufau, 87, who was one of the first Black servicemen in the U.S. Navy.

Yvette Moreno, a 13-year Highbridge resident who viewed the trailer, said she hadn’t been previously aware that Dufau came from Highbridge. Nor had she been familiar with the High Bridge and its history.  “I saw my community,” Moreno said. “I appreciated more what we have.”   Moreno added that she expected the film would have a similar affect on other residents who viewed it.

George Rivera, who has lived in Highbridge since 1999, agreed. “I think it would probably make the newer arrivals proud,” Rivera said, “and emotionalize the older residents. ‘Cause they have no idea this stuff is here.”

Gonzalez said he anticipates the final project being completed by September.

But Antonetty, who addressed the audience after the trailer was shown, said she thought the film was a vital means of preserving the history of the community and hoped that it would be a “living documentary” that kept growing over the years.

“If we don’t tell it, somebody else will,” Antonetty said of the history of Highbridge. “And many of us will be left out.”