Broken Angel

In late 2006 we started to shoot as Arthur Wood tried to save his families’ building, “The Broken Angel”, from being torn down by Department of Buildings of New York City. He partnered with a developer to turn the building into condos. I had wanted to start a film for years but hadn’t made contact with Arthur. I reached out to the developer and thought about trying to do a series about the conversion. My main goal, as an artist and filmmaker, was to make sure that the process was documented. I shot for a couple of years, but when things between Arthur and the developer became strained, Arthur decided that he didn’t want me to film anymore.

Recently, the bank got control of the building and has made efforts to remove Arthur. In the middle of March community members put together a block party to celebrate Arthur and his work. We filmed at that event and hope to eventually make a movie out of our footage.