Tag Archives: East 106th Street

PRdream mourns the passing of State Senator Olga Mendez, 1926 – 2009

July 29, 2009The ForumChairperson, Columbia, Columbia University, delegate, dynamic leader, East 106th Street, New, New York State Legislature, New York State Senate, Olga Mendez, Secretary, Senator, social services, strong advocate, University of Puerto Rico, Yeshiva Universityescalona

Born in 1926 in Mayaguez Puerto Rico, her academic accomplishments are trumped only by her extensive work in public service. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Mendez earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Columbia University, followed by a PhD in Educational Psychology from Yeshiva University.

Early in her career, Mendez was a strong advocate for improving social services in the community, and became a dynamic leader in the organization of voter registration drives throughout the country. She was elected Senator to the New York State Legislature in 1978, becoming the first Puerto Rican woman to hold the honor in the State of New York.

Mendez was elected as a delegate for the Democratic Conventions of 1980, 1984, and 1988. During her time in the New York State Senate, she served as Secretary of the Minority Conference in 1984, and in 1993 earned the honor of becoming the first Puerto Rican woman to be chosen as Chairperson of the Minority Conference.

In 2004, PRdream honored Senator Olga Mendez when she left office with a reception and performances by Teatro Circulo and El Trio Nueva York at its gallery then on East 106th Street.

COMMERCIAL SHARES IN SUNNY, SPACIOUS LOFT

August 6, 2007The ForumEast 106th Street, SUNNY, USD, utilities basement storageescalona

Commercial Shares in Sunny, Spacious Loft – Available NOW!

Shares in sunny spacious loft on East 106th Street, between Lexington
and Third Avenues
Convenient to all public transportation. Easy parking on street or in
parking lots/garages.

$1,750 shares plus utilities
basement storage included

Call 212.828.0401

MNN is officially out of PRdream’s new media loft

December 15, 2006The ForumA Living Memorial, Arte de Puerto Rico, Cable TV, Center of Puerto Rican Studies, Chile, City, coaxial cable, Dan Coughlin, digital technology, DIRECTOR, Director of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, East 104th Street, East 106th Street, El Diario, El Mercurio, El Museo de Arte, Executive Director, free wireless internet access, Hunter College, Judith Escalona, Lexington Avenue, media gallery, media practices, Museo de Arte, Museo de la Historia de Ponce, Museo del Barrio, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NUYORICAN CINEMA, PRdream.com, satellite public access, studio of Upper Manhattan, The Handball Court Summer Film Festival, the New York Times, Time-Warner, University of Puerto Rico, WABC, WABC-TV, WCBS, WCBS-TV, WHITE PARKescalona

PRdream/MediaNoche, the first new media gallery and digital studio of Upper Manhattan, and Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the community access organization for Manhattan, opened a satellite public access, cable television facility in PRdream’s loft on East 106th Street in 2004. This past Friday, December 1, they met to finalize the terms of MNN’s departure which was set for Wednesday, December 13. According to Judith Escalona, Director of PRdream.com and MediaNoche, “the split was long in the making.” The two organizations, one small and the other large, are remarkably different in their uses of media and their ultimate aims.

PRdream/MediaNoche seeks to utilize digital technology and the internet to advance an agenda that opens a dialogue among artists and filmmakers worldwide while maintaining a strong community base. That agenda involves the production, exhibition and distribution of digital artwork and films. It also involves an ongoing theorizing and critique of media practices.

Manhattan Neighborhood Network is mandated by the franchise agreement between the city of New York and Time-Warner, to provide free training in video production and programming time to the residents of Manhattan over the designated public access channels in Manhattan. They also have a website at http://www.mnn.org. Public Access television came into being in the seventies, as an enticement created by the cable companies who wanted to install coaxial cable in city streets.

Neither organization plans to leave Spanish Harlem aka El Barrio. PRdream first came to El Barrio in 1999 to showcase an unique film festival called Nuyorican Cinema at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center and later opened its new media loft on East 106th Street in order to collect the oral histories of the Puerto Rican diaspora. This work continues unabated and can be seen online at http://www.prdream.com.

They later expanded their activities by creating the first new media gallery and digital film studio of Upper Manhattan, MediaNoche, and The Handball Court Summer Film Festival, screening international films at sunset by projecting them on the handball court wall on East 106th Street. This past summer, they launched MediaNoche_wifi, offering free wireless internet access on East 106th Street and White Park.

PRdream/MediaNoche will continue its activities from its new media loft. Check out http://www.prdream.com and http://www.medianoche.us.

In a move that involves temporarily downsizing, MNN will occupy a smaller space on Lexington Avenue, according to Dan Coughlin, the Executive Director of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, while they prepare for a permanent residence on East 104th Street, where they are in the process of purchasing the delapidated firehouse located there. The sale of the firehouse by El Museo del Barrio was surrounded by controversy by community residents who saw the loss of a cultural asset. The building has been closed for two decades and shows the wear of disuse and neglect.

For Escalona, it’s all part of a process of cleaning house and streamlining activities at PRdream/MediaNoche. “We’ve reached a point of growth that necessitates refocusing and assessment in order to continue to deliver smart, good quality work.” 2006 was apparently a great year for the organization which hosted the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition “In the Making.” They also completed a webcast that featured an international dialogue of the work of Diogenes Ballester with El Museo de la Historia de Ponce, and The Caribbean University of Puerto Rico, this past September.

PRdream/MediaNoche has also collaborated with the Center of Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, El Museo del Barrio, the Museum of the City of New York, and El Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. PRdream.com and MediaNoche have been featured on WABC-TV, WCBS-TV, NY1, The New York Times, NY Daily News, NY Post, El Diario, Hoy, El Mercurio (Chile), Siempre, Tiempo, and After Image, as well as international publications and web sites.

Memorial for Don Otilio Díaz, executive director of La Casa

August 28, 2006The ForumDiaz, director of La Casa, director of La Casa de, Don Otilio, East 106th Street, Executive Director, Guayama, New York, Otilio Diaz Memorial Fund, Puerto Rico, Religious services, Saint Cecilia's ChurchVirtualBoricua

Don Otilio Díaz, executive director of La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, died peacefully on Monday, August 21, 2006. He was 75. Mr. Díaz had no children, but is survived here in New York by a sister and several nieces. A public memorial will be held from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Wednesday, August 30 and Thursday, August 31 in Room 103 of the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center, located at 1680 Lexington Avenue near 106 Street. Religious services will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 1 at Saint Cecilia’s Church, located on East 106th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues. Mr. Diaz will then be buried in his hometown of Guayama, Puerto Rico. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to La Casa’s “Otilio Diaz Memorial Fund.” For more information, call (212) 722-2600 or visit http://www.lacasapr.org.