Clip of the Week: eHarlemTV

Welcome back from a nice, long weekend, everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed celebrating MLK. For this special edition of Clip of the Week, we’re actually featuring a throwback (yes, we know it’s not Thursday).

Two years ago, the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center was getting its final polishes and coats of paint. The facility opened its doors in early 2012 to function as an unprecedented resource for residents of East Harlem and the rest of Manhattan, and that’s just what it’s done. Shortly after, eHarlemTV, a monthly MNN program that puts the spotlight on the rich culture and history of the barrios, produced a profile of the Firehouse’s journey from run-down relic to cutting-edge production and media education center.

Watch the video to see how El Barrio Firehouse preserves the neighborhood’s architecture and history, and how it closes the “digital divide” to transform the lives of those who take advantage of its services – and particularly of young people.

The clip features interviews with Robert Tierney, chair of NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, and Melissa Mark-Viverito, representing City Council’s 8th district (and now Council Speaker), among many other prominent figures in the community.

For more information about this groundbreaking facility’s services and events, go to mnn.org/about-us/firehouse. And sign up for one of the upcoming information sessions about the Firehouse’s TV production courses. Happy birthday, El Barrio Firehouse!

Watch eHarlemTV every fourth Wednesday at 7pm on MNN4 and streaming live: http://bit.ly/mnn_4. To watch more episodes, check out the show’s website and YouTube channel.