All language subtitles for Class.Divide.2015.1080p.WEBRip.x265-RARBG

Marc Levin:How do you think
this neighborhood
has changed?

It's like the buildings
are changing.

Is it getting better?
Is it getting worse?
What would you say?

- Worse.
- Getting better.

Worse, 'cause
the buildings

are turning, like,
old and dirty.

And you said
it's getting better.

'Cause the builders
are building the new houses.

( music playing )

( jackhammer rattling )

Omega Linton:
I feel like they're
trying to push

everybody
out of New York City.

I don't care
what color you are.

If you don't have
the big dollars,

they want you out.

They want that apartment
and that spot for someone else

who's bringing in
those dollars.

Cher Elyse Carden:
I walk down the street now,

I don't see anything
that I recognize anymore.

All of my favorite stores
and shops are now gone.

Nick:
When you walk
down the High Line,

there are literally, like,
new construction buildings
every day.

It's changing so rapidly.

Claudia Saez-Fromm:
We're the capital
of the world.

People want to live
in Manhattan.

Are the people
going to be moving out?

That's what happens.

William Wilson:
I grew up on 25th Street
and 9th Avenue.

There's an apartment complex
on the corner now.

I don't know where--
I came home from jail
and it was there.

Corey Johnson:You have
this school where you could
send your child there

from kindergarten
through 12th grade,

pay between $40,000
and $50,000 a year

for private education,

and literally
across the street,

you have
the Elliott-Chelsea houses

where a tremendous
number of people are
living in poverty.

Luc:
I've noticed, like,
a greater disparity

just between looking
at kids across the street
and Avenues

and then looking
at the housing projects.

This gap is just becoming
larger between the two.

Even though you may
just see an avenue
between each block,

it's actually
much larger than that.

Rosa:
So, if you look out here,

you can actually see
the Statue of Liberty.

So, like,
right over there.

And these are, like,
the other rich buildings

where other people live.

My family is poor
because we live
in the projects.

We don't live, like,
nowhere perfect.

And my mom, she doesn't
give me a lot of money--

like, probably $2, $3

to go to the store
and stuff like that.

I mean, my family
is not a perfect family,
you know what I'm saying?

I can't, I can't.
I try being honest with you.

And you say, "Oh, Daddy,
buy me this, buy me this."

I cannot, because I don't
have no money, Rosa.

- You understand
what's going on in--
- I understand!

If I got the money,
you think that I'd say no?

You don't-- no,
if I got the money,
I'd say I'll go with you.

I mean, I don't have
what I want necessarily,

but I do have, like,
people that I love.

Tócala.

See?

She love you.

♪ My name is Rosa,
it rhymes with bosa ♪

♪ I stick to the lyrics
every day and knows-a... ♪

Who do I admire?
I admire Beyoncé.

I mean,
if I ever meet her,
I'm gonna cry.

It's gonna be, like,
so emotional for me.

I mean, Mark--
I mean, if who--
like your favorite singer.

Who's your favorite singer?

Billie Holiday.

You-- if you
meet him, right?

You would, like,
faint or something,
like, something...

oh, my God.

( thunder rumbling )

Rosa:
Avenues is a school
that I wanted to go to,

but I couldn't because
it was too much money.

Parents are more poor
at my school,

and Avenues,
it's, like,

people that have,
like, a lot of money,
you know what I'm saying?

♪ Welcome to Avenues,
the best high school ♪

♪ I've got
a strange feeling ♪

♪ That you're in
for something new ♪

♪ I wanna tell you
about my favorite crew ♪

♪ We've got a name for it,
student council ♪

♪ Our job
is to make the school
the best that it can be ♪

♪ Your job is to report
any problem that you see ♪

♪ We've got the president
and the secretary ♪

♪ But what about me?
I'm the V.P. ♪

( cheering )

Yasemin:
I've seen people
come to the school

and they're like,
this is a spaceship.

Like, they go in the elevators,
they're talking to you.

There's a cafe
with coffee.

Like, it's to the extent

where it almost makes you
white out everything else.

Geoffrey:
The first day,
I came to Avenues

and I saw an entire line
of Mercedes SUVs

outside the school
just dropping kids off.

It was a little intimidating
because I thought,

wow, I'm going to a school
where people are, like,
crazy rich.

Luc:
In Vermont, I was
always looked at

as the wealthiest kid
in my class,

whereas here,
going to Avenues,

I definitely was not.

Isabella:
Just being
upper middle class

is something
that a lot of kids
have in common.

Like, they don't
have enough money
to have a private jet

and go to Turks and Caicos
over the weekend,

which a few kids do.

-( ball dribbling )
- Go, Avenues!

Sophie:
When I come to Avenues,
I definitely feel like

I am the lower part
of the pack.

And that's kind of odd, right,
'cause compared to the rest
of the world,

I go on vacation,
I go to a private school,
in general.

So it's a very odd shift
once I walk in the doors.

And when you live
in the city

and when you're exposed
to all these different
walks of life,

you are able to say,
okay, this is what I have.

But that's not the same case
for everybody else.

Joel:
When we were learning
about the Titanic--

like, first class,
second class, third class,
and the crew--

like, the first class
was the wealthy ones,

second class
was sort of wealthy,

third class,
not so good,

and crew,
you just work for money.

( speaking Spanish )

Levin:
Where would you
put yourselves?

I figure I'll say
at least second class

or third class.

- Joel, Miley.
- Joel:Yeah?

Come,vengan.
I have pizza for you.

Coming.

Seven people
in a little house.

-Two rooms.
- Ta-da!

Joel:
Me, my baby sister,

my mom and dad
sleep in one room.

And my sister sleeps
in the other room,

and my grandma
has to sleep outside

in the living room.

Three-sixths
is one half, so--

oh, I didn't look-- oh.

- Mmm.
- I got it, I got it.

So you-- good.

Candida Montero:
He asked me why we had to live

in that small apartment.

He asked me
so many questions--

that he would like
to live in better place.

That's a heartbreak.

And the thing
that he tell me,

"Mommy, when I go to college,
when I finish college,

I will buy you a big house,
Mommy, with four bedrooms,
two bathrooms."

And his dream is, like,
better life.

Ricardo Scofidio:
We used to, at one point,

build parks
to escape the city.

The High Line, and one
of the great strengths
of High Line

is that it really opens
the city up to you.

And when you go up
in the High Line,

you see the city in ways

that you've never
experienced before.

Real estate prices
have skyrocketed.

Everybody wants to live
near the High Line

and on top
of the High line.

Saez-Fromm:
Come on, Tyler, get dressed.
Go get your coat.

- What's in that dress?
- Hurry up.

Are you gonna
take anything
to camp?

Camp.

Saez-Fromm:
My morning routine
is the best

-with our family.
- All good?

That 30 minutes
that we're bonding,

we walk together
as a family to school.

( chattering )

- Look it, a beautiful day.
- ( kids chattering )

( Saez-Fromm laughs )

Be careful.
Don't trip, don't trip.

I grew up very humble.

My mom assembles lamps

and my father would manage
pizzeria restaurants.

I went to a public school
at the time.

I didn't speak
a stitch of English.

What are you doing
at school today, Sophia?

What I like
about Avenues

is that they really
are more creative

than the traditional
public school method.

Mark David Fromm:
Come on, Sophia.
Come on, Tyler.

Saez-Fromm:
When we went there,
I told Chris Whittle,

I've seen your school
being built.

This is my number one choice
for our daughter.

We believe in this school.

-Hola. ¿Cómo estás?
-Bien...

Chris Whittle:
For those of us
in the world of schooling,

-there's
an inside joke that...
- Have a good one.

...if you came back
from the 15th century,

there are only two things
you would recognize--

your church
and your school.

And recognizing your church
is probably a good thing.

Recognizing your school
is probably not.

Schools take a long time
to change.

( speaking Chinese )

( students
speaking Chinese )

We think of it
as the first global school.

We envision
major campuses

in the great cities
of the world,

20 over the next decade.

What's really special
and different about the school

is that we focus on
preparing children

for international life.

- ( rapping in Chinese )
-( people laugh, cheer )

China becoming
the world's superpower,

it may be helpful someday
to know Chinese.

Instead of pressuring you

to read textbooks
and study for exams,

they push you
to make sure

that you're not just
memorizing everything,

that you really understand
what you're learning.

They kind of encourage you
to be the teachers.

We learn
by the Harkness method.

It's roundtable discussions.

We don't have a bunch
of individual desks

facing one board
or the Smart Board.

We do the Smart Board,

but, you know,
everyone's facing in
towards the center.

It's a roundtable discussion,
and that goes for every class.

It's called Avenues,
the World School.

That's an amazing
friggin' title, you understand?

And this is right across
the street from the projects.

( chattering )

Hyisheem:
Hearing all of these
good things,

the school
is so great--

the one thing that
kind of got me, though,

was the fact that it cost
over $40,000

to admit your child.

In this neighborhood,

I don't think I can name
five people

who make over $40,000.

So, when it comes
down to that,

it's like a tease almost.

And it's a smack
in the face.

Ken Jockers:People who
live in public housing
here in Chelsea

are poor
or working poor people.

For a family of four,

approximately,
you're looking at

a household income
of about $21,000 a year.

The unemployment rate
in these complexes

is about 50%.

Juwan:
Nobody will understand

what it's like to live
in the projects

unless you've lived
in the projects,

because you can be
my best friend for 25 years

and we're going to school,
hanging out every day,

but you don't know
what goes on

when I close my door
and lock my door at night.

It's no-- it could be
no hot water.

It could be--
it could be no cold water.

It could be no food.

- ( chattering )
-( ice cream truck chiming )

Hyisheem:
When you're younger
and you're playing in the park,

you know, there are things
that you just don't pay
attention to.

And, you know,
you're focused on having fun.

But, you know, growing up,
you start understanding

this is not a place
where you want to live
the rest of your life.

I mean I've been shot twice.
You already know that.

You know, it's-- and living
in this neighborhood.

I got shot on 26th Street
between 9th and 10th.

Levin:
What was the...?

A guy walked up to me.

He said, "What's up?"
and started firing.

Grazed me on my head
right here,

hit me in my hip
right here.

I'm blessed to be alive.

In 2012,
our friend Dante got shot.

It was really, like,
in all honesty,

that could've been me.

( music playing )

♪ In the hood
it's the same old thing ♪

♪ We need to think
about some ways to change ♪

♪ To my brothers that bang,
it's all love, homie,
open your brain ♪

♪ We need to think
about some ways to change ♪

♪ Some ways to change ♪

♪ In the hood
it's the same old thing ♪

♪ We need to think
about some ways to change ♪

♪ To my brothers
that sling ♪

♪ With or without you
in the game, it's the same ♪

♪ We need to think about
some ways to change... ♪

( siren wailing )

Isabella:Honestly,
when I first started
walking to school,

everyone was, like,
afraid to walk up that street,

because there are
so many stereotypes
that come with that.

Geoffrey:
There are students
at this school--

and I remember the first year
that everyone was here.

They'd be, like,
"Oh, let's walk home."

They're like, "We need
to take 23rd Street

to get back
to the subway."

Luc:
Walking past the Chelsea
housing projects,

I see people
who look at me differently,

look at me
as if I'm, like, white,
rich preppie kid.

And they probably think
that I'm looking at them

as poor, you know, people
who are inferior to me

just because I may have
more resources at the time.

Geoffrey:
I've really had to think
about how I'm perceived

just walking
through the community
with an Avenues polo on.

Nick:I mean there's
public housing right here
at 25th and 10th,

there's Avenues,
then there's restaurants
right over here.

And over here,
there's art galleries.

I mean, it's almost
a weird place to be,

'cause you're
walking around,

and you look
across the street

and there's something
that almost looks like

it shouldn't be there--
you know, public housing.

But it was there.
It was there first.

And that's what--
I mean, that's kind of what
gentrification is, isn't it?

Saez-Fromm:
Yeah, you're gonna be
right by Chelsea Market.

So it's, like--
that's where your
food shopping is gonna be.

It's great.

We moved to West Chelsea
in 2006.

We took a big leap of faith
because we're in real estate.

We're like,
this is gonna be
the new hot neighborhood.

And it was.

Three bedrooms,

they can be anywhere
from $5.6 million

to about $15 million.

So, that's
the Frank Gehry
building. Right?

That's on 19th Street
where Thomas Juul-Hansen--

that's also the Thomas
Juul-Hansen building.

Joe Restuccia:
In the prior ways
of gentrification

and change that happened
on the West Side,

always the new residents

have integrated
into the new neighborhood.

This is different.

This is trying to create
a new identity

for what
our neighborhood is.

The development you see there
has all happened since 2005.

There's been a land rush
west of 10th Avenue

and there's also been, like,
the museum of architectural
innovation, you know?

Every building is trying
to outdo each other.

Are you familiar
with the neighborhood?

My kids go to school
at Avenues.

Oh, so you know.
That's perfect.

You enter the building
underneath the High Line.

-This is a view
of a penthouse.
- That's beautiful.

This townhouse
pricewise is 11,750.

- Okay, okay.
- Okay.

- That would work?
- Yeah.

Now, apart from that,
when you go to the top,

- we have a duplex
penthouse.
-Okay.

And that's-- you know,
that's more like close to 19.

You have
two walk-in closets,
you have a sauna.

I think my husband's
gonna have to make more money.

Jeffrey Gural:
We probably own 45 buildings

and, I think, about
eight million square feet,

almost all of it
in Manhattan.

Real estate
plays a big role
in gentrification

because everybody
wants to make a buck.

You know, we live
in a free-market society.

Most of what we bought
were old factories.

Restuccia:
Well, west Chelsea
and the West Side, in general,

was industry.

I mean, Nabisco
invented the Oreo
and the Lorna Doone here.

Paper warehouses,
printing presses--

it was a very heavily
industrial neighborhood

that was comprised of that
and tenements.

And the docks, there was
a huge longshoreman industry

that, of course, went away
in the late '60s, early '70s.

And so these are true
working-class people.

Whittle:
This was built in the '20s.

In its very early days,
it was a turkey slaughterhouse,

and trains
pulled up right here
and unloaded turkeys.

And then it, I think, evolved
into mainly a warehouse.

Silas Seandel:
Put the helmet down.

Artists working in Chelsea,

there wasn't dozens and dozens
of artists

when I started to work
down here.

It was very dirty,
it was very gritty,

it was very industrial,
for sure,

and also very foreboding
for the most part,

certainly after
the sun went down.

Anything over west
of 10th Avenue was suspect.

I've been in this neighborhood
since 1983.

This is the Wild, Wild West.

That was the straight place,
this was the transvestite place,

the next place
was the she-hes.

There was a club there
that you used to stay in

until 12:00
in the afternoon.

After that,
you would leave

and go to that red building
over there to the top floor

and stay there
from 12:00 in the afternoon

till 9:00 at night.

Gural:Initially,
we were buying these buildings
because they were so cheap,

and then we converted them
to office space.

So now one day we woke up
10 years ago

and that's where
everybody wants to be.

Rosa:I was--
grew up in Chelsea.

I seen the stuff
that happened in Chelsea.

I have friends that died,
like Dante.

And he was friends
with my brother, Danny,

and we actually lost him.

( siren wailing )

I seen a lot of bad stuff
in my area,

and I understand it.

For a kid my age,
I really understand

what has happened
in this world,

what has happened
in where I live at.

I live in the projects,

I live in the middle
of a very poor place.

This is my big brother,
Charlie.

This is my middle
brother, Danny.

Okay, let's go
before there's cars.
Come on, honey.

( chattering )

Danny:
My mentor always told me,
I know, it's okay.

It's not your fault
if you're born poor.

But it is your fault
if you die poor.

Me coming from here,
I didn't know that.

I didn't really
understand that.

I was actually a Democrat.

And then
when I was presented
the opportunity

to become an entrepreneur,
everything is self-performance.

That's what America is.

If you want it bad enough,
you'll get it, and I love that.

I love that now,
but I didn't-- I changed.

My whole mentality changed now
than what it was before.

I'm a Republican now.
It's crazy.

This is my first time
hearing that, honestly.

- Are you serious?
- Danny:It's crazy, man.

For real?
I didn't know that.
That's really new to me.

Danny:
It was, like, if I can
give you a dollar

or I can give you
an opportunity.

Which one
are you gonna take?

And most people,
as a Democrat,

they'd rather
take the dollar
than the opportunity.

So you're saying Democrats
are more for lazy,
poor people?

There are certain situations
where it is not your fault
that you're on welfare.

You know,
things happen in life,
but at the same time,

there's people in life
that just like to

pretty much use the government,
you know, use the government.

And they're lazy.

They're lazy
and they're dependent.

We've never really had
this conversation like this,

but you're right, though,
you're right.

- Ah!
- Man:Let's go!

Danny:
Times are changing.

The way money
is being made
is changing.

I want to make
millions and millions
of dollars.

And I don't make it yet,
but I'm 22 years old.

My goal is by 27, I'm wanna
be a self-made millionaire.

Nick:
Any article
I've read recently

says that in my generation,
we'll be the first generation

to not make as much money
as my parents did.

You know, my parents worked
to get where they are now.

You know, they weren't
handed any money

and that makes me
look at them

and I want to do
the same thing.

I want to be able
to at one point

go out and buy myself
a nice apartment

or a nice house
or a nice car

and be proud of myself

and maybe send my kids
to private school.

What you'll be able to see
is 432 Park Avenue,

which is gonna be
the tallest residential
building,

I think,
in the Northern
Hemisphere.

The thing is,
the higher you go,
the nicer the view you have

and the more money
you can get for it.

Architecture
as of now interests me

not only as a hobby
or something that I like,
but also as a career.

Ever since I was little,
I'd say I wanted to be a doctor,

so hopefully I'll be able
to follow that path.

But how much money
am I gonna make as a doctor?

You ask people,
kids my age,

"What do you want to do
when you get older?"

You want to make money.
I just want to help people.

Where is that gonna
set me off socioeconomically
and financially?

I don't know.

Luc:
My dad is a currency trader.

He works very, very hard,

so that's why
he's really successful.

I really hope
to be like him someday.

I want to be involved
sports marketing.

I really love
my New York sports.

Work in Madison Square Garden
scheduling events,

things like that--
that's really what I want to do.

( music playing )

Edgar:
I've been playing piano

because my parents are both
professional musicians.

It's a very great way
to relieve stress.

My parents always stress
that, you know,

they're paying
for this high school.

You have to get As, you have
to get to a good college,

you have to get
into a good, you know--

you have to get a good job.

I've been wanting
to go to Harvard
since I was five.

I think anybody who goes
to a school like this

feels the pressure
to succeed in life.

Rosa:
I want to be a singer,
but if that doesn't work out,

I wanna be
a professor of geology

at Columbia University.

Everyone asks me
the same exact question.

Why is it geology?

Teacher:
Good morning, Rosa.
How are you?

Bye,mami.
Have a nice day.

Rosa:
It's geology because
there's some questions

that I asked
my mom and dad.

And they don't, like,
know the answer,

so I want to find out
for myself.

How did pieces of rocks
get on Earth?

When I want to grow up,
I mostly want to be a dancer

or artist or astronaut.

I mostly love dancing.

It's active, it's fun.

I love challenges.

Are you guys okay
with touching worms?

- No!
- Yes!

Jockers:
Hudson Guild
is a settlement house,

and we're part of a movement
that started in the late 1800s

to help immigrant families
get established

in new neighborhoods
in New York City.

We have morphed
over the last 120 years

into a broad-based program

that's designed
to serve everybody

who lives or works
or goes to school

here in the Chelsea
neighborhood.

- Teacher:
How many boys?
- Four.

Teacher:
We have four boys today.

I work here with Hudson Guild
in the children's center.

No, no.
Where do you
want to sit?

I come from
the Dominican Republic,

and my family
is a family of four kids.

And it's, what can I say,
very hard.

The life right now
is very expensive,

especially in this area.

( whistling tune )

Joel:
My dad, he has to
wake up at 5:00,

and he comes back
at 5:00.

So his job is 12 hours.

Fernando Barbecho:
It was busy, busy,
busy today.

I didn't take
a break, even, too.

- But you wake
all early, like 4:00.
- Yeah, I wake up early.

I wake at like 4:00,
4:00 in the morning.

Montero:
He working in a restaurant,
he making sandwiches.

He's from Ecuador.

He's illegal.

He don't have
no document yet.

That's why make for us,
uh, more hard.

I worry about
my children,

that if something
happen to him,

if he's being, like,
sending back to his country.

Yeah, I'm worried
about that

'cause I want my dad
to stay with me

instead of going
all the way over there.

Papi,

What is that?

It's for the bathtub.

Oh.

If you buy me that,
you will be handsome.

- Barbecho:Yes.
-( Montero laughs )

If I no buy this,
so not handsome?

-Mm-mm.
- Mm-mm.

( cello music playing )

( speaking Spanish )

- ( man vocalizing )
- ( music playing )

( woman speaking Japanese )

( clarinet music playing )

( woman speaking Polish )

Scofidio:
The week before it opened,
we kind of said, "Well,

if we can get
300,000 people up

- in one year,
it would be a great success.
- ( chuckles )

Of course,
now it's five million a year.

Restuccia:It's in
the top 10 tourist attractions
of New York City?

I think
that's hysterical

because I sat in meetings
where people said,

"Tear that piece
of junk down."

Joshua David:
We're building
the third section

of the High Line
right now.

This was probably
our biggest fight of all--

to save
this part of it.

This is the original
condition

that we found
up on the High Line.

So these were the tracks
that trains ran on

exactly as they were
originally laid.

The High Line was built
from 1929 to 1934.

It was built to get
dangerous rail traffic

off the streets
of New York City.

What was at one time
the Hudson River Railroad

had run rail down
the west side of Manhattan.

And almost as soon
as the trains started running,

they started
running people over.

David:
The avenues were known
as death avenues.

New York City
enacted a law

where a man on horseback
had to ride in front
of each train

to try and clear people
out of the way,

and those men on horseback
were called the West Side
Cowboys.

The High Line created
this very unusual condition

which was an elevated
railroad line

running through the center
of city blocks

and sometimes
through buildings.

In 1999,

somebody invited me
to a community board meeting,

and then I ended up
sitting next to a guy

who I had never met
before.

It became clear
that Robert and I

were the only two people
in the room

who thought
that this represented

an incredible
opportunity.

But there wasn't anybody
trying to save the High Line.

Everything seemed
sort of aligned against us.

( girl chanting )

( kids chanting )

Restuccia:
It's the major irony.

The real estate industry
funded the lawsuits

to ensure the High Line
was turned down.

It has provided
a catalyst

beyond anyone's
wildest dreams.

There's a building being
developed on West 30th Street

that will have
individual swimming pools
in each unit.

There's another building
on 11th Avenue and 24th Street

that has a car elevator
that brings your car

up to your floor
for your apartment.

This is not
about a neighborhood
or about New York.

It's about
"I wanna take my money
out of Singapore,

out of Abu Dhabi

and invest
and park it here."

Whoa.

Okay.

Restuccia:
Now, I don't think anyone
in our neighborhood

really understands
what's coming.

This is our Hong Kong
on the Hudson.

There are gonna be
13 residential buildings,

some of which
are 60 to 90 stories.

I haven't been to Hong Kong,
but I've certainly
seen pictures.

That's what
it will look like.

Maybe those individual
swimming pools won't
look so fancy.

( distant siren wailing )

Rosa:
Hiya!

I hate money.

I hate, hate, hate,
hate money.

You know why I hate money?
I'm gonna tell you right now.

People fight over money

and I hate that they fight
over money.

Money was made
by the devil,

I think,
because God didn't say--

He was like,
"No, you have to
pay for this."

God-- I never heard
a parable--

a parable
or the Bible saying

that God said,
"Oh, you have to
pay for this."

Jesus, if he was
on this world,

he would--
money would be
non-existent.

Daddy,
I'm closing you here.

Can you pick up
the bike?

Rosa:Mom!

This is something I--
I'm embarrassed to say this,

but my mom had to pawn
all her jewelry

'cause-- to pay
the rent and stuff.

You think--
you see how that--
you see how that is?

I mean, you don't see
my mom with-- she put
fake on stuff.

Now she don't--
$3 stuff.

She used to have
a whole bunch of jewelry--

pretty jewelry on.

( kids chanting )
Let's go, Avenues, let's go!

( clapping )
Let's go, Avenues,
let's go!

( clapping )
Let's go, Avenues, let's go!

( clapping )
Let's go, Avenues,
let's go!

Let's go, Avenues,
let's go!

- Man:And one!
-( crowd cheering )

Whittle:
One of the things
that we try to convey here

is how lucky
students are

so that they understand that
and they don't have

any kind of arrogance
related to their privilege.

( chatter )

Fulano:
I mean, since the people
at Avenues--

their parents
have lots of cash,

so all the richer kids
can be a bit of brats.

But in some situations,

the richer kids
and the poor kids

could have
the same personality,
could still be nice.

They could still be the same
because poor and rich

don't always define
your personality.

I always looked at my house
as just a thing

that I have
that I take for granted.

But then one day, you know,
I had my birthday party.

A lot of kids came over
who hadn't been to
my house before

and said it's, like,
huge and whatnot.

Like, it really put it
in perspective

that, wow, you know,
I have a lot.

Like, I'm very fortunate
to be where I am.

Yasemin:
I've grown up
in a very liberal community

around a lot
of progressive people.

In a weird way
I like to call them

kind of, like, self-hating
wealthy people.

I didn't earn my money,
you know?

I didn't earn a nice house
on the Upper West Side.

I didn't earn, you know,
a tuition at Avenues.

I didn't earn any of it.
I was given it.

My mom's family
came from Turkey

with a large amount
of money.

Because of that,
I have a large amount
of money.

I'm not saying
they didn't work hard.

They definitely worked hard,
but so do people who go--

who live in the projects
across from Avenues.

Most people work hard.

It's just did the dice
roll correctly for you?

Do you have that luck?
Do you have that privilege

assigned at birth
or do you not?

Barbecho:
The people sent me home.

Those job-- I was working
a long time for this guy and...

I make a mistake-- one salad,
something like that.

He screaming to me
because I know he knows

I no-- I don't
have papers.

Act like, "You,
you wanna work here?

You listen to me!
Look at my face!"

And I was--
my face like that
because, you know,

behind me is my family,

so I gonna work hard
for my family.

And I said, "Sorry."

And then he said,
"Okay, you know what?

Punch your card
and go home."

That's it,
just do like this.

Montero:
And you had,
like, 10 years

-working for his--
you know?
- Yeah, 10 years.

And for the little mistake,
for sesame seeds.

Do you believe this?

-That was tough.
- It's like a tough month
for me.

For us.

Juwan:
When I was eight years old,
I lost my mom.

Um, very close to her.

I was just-- lived with her
and it hurt me.

It was like,
"Okay, my mom's gone."

I done did
enough crying.

I still have to live
my life.

And it was hard, like,
at eight years old.

The end of 2013,

I lost my little brother,
my baby brother.

So that's what I'm dealing with.
I'm fine, though.

Strong.

I am pursuing my career
in acting and comedy.

I do want to be an actor
or entertainer.

( meows )

Isabella:
Well, my mom grew up

in a very poor household
in Illinois

and she had to, like,
work for her own money
to go to college.

When I was three,

she was diagnosed
with breast cancer.

When I was nine,
that was when she really
got sick.

And it was really hard
to see her every day

near, like,
the end of her life.

Afterwards,
I felt, like, guilty.

Um, it's just... hard.

I know that the economy
isn't good.

I'm not sure that there are
many jobs available

and that college
is difficult to get into

even if you have
great credentials.

But I want all the hard work
that I'm doing now

to pay off in some way

and I want to ultimately
do something creative.

( chatter )

Nick:
You look around
and, you know,

Stanford right now has
the lowest acceptance rate.

It's a record low.

And that's what
all these colleges want.

They want their record low
acceptance rates.

They want the best of the best
to go to their schools,

you know, which is
understandable.

But at times, you know,
it becomes hard for everyone

to work as hard as they can
and do the greatest things,

go to these summer
programs wherever,

and speak
three different languages,

to be the greatest of the great
to go to these great schools.

I want to go up.

I want to be great.

Teacher:You have
to get the entire country
in your viewfinder,

so you have to step back
to the point where you have--

-there you go, there you go.
- I got it. I'm getting it.

- Wow, like a pro.
-There you go.

Luc:
My mom, she's always
telling me about how,

"Oh, when I had an assignment,
I had to walk miles
to the library

to just even look up a word
in a dictionary."

And nowadays,
I just go on my phone.

In two seconds
I have what I need.

It's just hard to think about
where I might end up

because my parents,
they had it worse than I did,

yet their environment
made them push themselves harder

than my environment
does today.

I was getting in the elevator
in my building one day,

and I live
on the 49th floor

and the lower half
of the building

is lower income
housing floors.

A woman and her little boy,
who's about maybe
two years old,

each African-American,
they pressed 14.

And he said, "Wow, you live
all the way up there?"

And I was like,
"Yeah, I do."

And he said,
"Well, I live down here."

And then at that point,
I didn't know what to say.

Like, I could've said,
"Oh, cool."

But then
I was thinking about,

"Oh, well, the mother knows
that I don't think it's cool."

Like, is she thinking
that I'm thinking

I'm above them
and they're lower than me

and that, like,
socially I'm superior
and things like that?

And I never--

I never thought
about that before.

( chatter )

Job:
In the TV,
there's no TV shows

that's really the rich
and the poor together,
you know?

It's either it's a rich show
or it's a poor show.

Brandon:
I live in a low-income
apartment.

I applied in a lottery.

I felt like crying.
It was like, "Wow,

I'm really gonna move
out the projects."

Like, I lived here
all my life.

All I seen was this.

I live on the second floor,
but I live all the way
in the back.

So one day,
I'm coming out
with my friend,

and these two girls,
they're all the way
in the front

and they seen us
walking.

They slammed the door,

locked it,
and put a chain on it.

And I heard it.

I'm like, "Wow,
are you serious right now?

Like,
you're really scared."

Still to this day,
I walk in the building,

people look at me
like I'm not supposed
to be there.

Reporter:
An apartment building
with two separate entrances.

One for sky-high
market rates

and one for
low-income residents

that opens
to a side street.

It's been dubbed
"the poor door."

Brandon:
There is no reason
I should be walking

through a separate door
because I make less than you.

So our kids are gonna
be raised like that?

"Oh, this kid makes less
than me or I'm gonna
make more than him,

so he has to go through
the separate door
all his life."

Where are we
gonna go next?

What's next?
Are we gonna have
separate bathrooms?

You know what I mean?
And we're gonna have
separate gyms

and the amenities
in the building

so you have to go
in the poor gym.

Scofidio:
I remember once
doing a competition.

It was
for affordable housing.

It was for low-income
housing.

I was given
second place.

And when I asked
the jury, you know,

"We thought we had
a great project.

Why did we get
second place?"

And they said,
"Even though you could
meet the budget

and it could be built,
it was too good."

Brandon:
I'm a doorman.

Right now,
it's $12 an hour.

I work just like you.
I work just as many hours.

I might just
work harder than you,
you know what I mean?

I wasn't born
with a gold spoon
in my mouth, you know?

So I-- I'm working,
though.

I don't plan to be a doorman
for the rest of my life.

I don't wanna be low-income
for the rest of my life.

I plan to make
some good money.

( man shouting on bullhorn )
...workers under attack.

- What do we do?
- All: Stand up, fight back!

-If we don't get it?
- All: Shut it down!

Miguel Acevedo:
These buildings go up,

these developers reap
millions and millions
and millions of dollars.

In return,
the community gets

some type
of affordable housing.

But when it comes
to employment,
we get zero.

Restuccia:
The condominiums are selling

outside of the ones
on 57th Street,

you know, the super tall
crazy numbers?

They're selling
for the highest price
per square foot

of anywhere
in the city of New York.

And if you can afford
to buy a condominium

for, you know,
$15 million,

you probably can afford
to pay basic wages

to people who are opening
and closing your door

and taking your packages
and cleaning your hallways.

- Isn't that the sort
of underlying thing here?
- Woman:Yes.

( music playing )

Joel:
"Romeo and Juliet."

Yeah, we're just
practicing the whole show.

I'm a Capulet
on Juliet's side.

( music playing )

Woman:
All right,
this is the scholarship.

Your essay should
describe your professional
and personal goals

- and why this scholarship
is important to you.
- Okay.

I had started
attending Hudson Guild
when I was eight years old.

From basketball
to homework help

to cooking class
to SAT prep,

it's been the number one
resource for me in my life.

A baby?

Jockers:
What we're doing
is providing

that same level of academic
and social support

to make sure
that as many poor children

have that leg up

that other children's parents
are paying for.

Gural:
We adopted
all of the children

that were in the third
and fourth grade

that lived
in the housing authority

and agreed that we would
provide them counseling

and mentoring
and tutoring.

It helps to level
the playing field.

Anybody,
middle-class families,
you know,

they send their kids
off to college.

The kid has a problem,
he calls their parents,

the parents send a check,
run up there, who knows what?

For these kids,
it's not that easy.

Hyisheem:Seeing that
young child growing up
in those dirtier circumstances

many of us would say that,
"Hey, that child doesn't have
a promising future."

Well, I wanna let you guys
know something.

I was that child.

The difference with me
was that when people saw me,

they didn't just see me
for my circumstance,
my situation.

They saw me
and they recognized
my potential.

( applause )

Jockers:
This part of Chelsea
has gone through a major change

in which the number
of people with money

has increased
significantly.

I have described it
at some times

as going from Appalachia
to Park Avenue

in the span
of five minutes.

( kids chattering )

Noah Klarish:
We moved here
about 15 years ago

and it was kind of like
the Wooly West at the time.

Come on, let's play.

My kids go to Avenues.

I'm not looking
to insulate them

and to have them,
you know, grow up
in an ivory tower.

I think it's great
for them to have

all the various mix
that the city offers.

I don't think of it,

"Oh, now I'm on
the bad part of the block.

Now I'm on the good part
of the block."

I'm on the block.

Michele:
Oh, wow!

This is great.

Oh, my gosh,
I love this fireplace!

It's beautiful.

- Michele: There's a--
there's a playground.
- There's the playground.

Michele:
So you think it'll be safe
for the kids, too?

Saez-Fromm:
You know, I mean,
I can't guarantee safety.

This is a choice
for you and your family

to make sure that if you're
gonna be here or 19th Street

- in a new development.
- Right.

So it's really
a personal decision,
up to you.

Would you live here?

You know, there's
something to be said
about vertical living

and, like,
the price point
has considered

that it's right in front
of the mixed-income housing.

That's why you're getting
6,600 square feet

- for not, you know--
for 10.35.
- Right.

You know, like,
our feeling

as residents
in west Chelsea
is to embrace it,

you know,
and not to be like--

is this--
it's different? Yes.

Do they have
different living?
Of course they do.

But either
you embrace it

or it's not for you
and you move on
another street.

It's a little scary

to take a chance
on something like this

and to find it doesn't--

- It doesn't work out.
- it doesn't meld as much
as you'd like it to.

Levin:
Would you like to go
to a school like Avenues?

Of course.

Do you know
anyone there?

No, of course not.

I laugh at the fact
that they use all our parks,

but don't--
but don't even like us.

Linton:
They did ask us
to use the parks.

Of course we said yes.

I mean, who are we
not to allow anyone
to use the parks?

But they did speak
about scholarships,

but when a few
of the families did go,

you know,

there's none of our children
there right now currently

in the two years
that it's been open.

It was not an issue,
in our thinking.

We actually
liked the fact

that we were
right across the street

from public housing.

We have a robust
scholarship program here,

and part of our arrangement
with the community board

was that a portion
of our scholarships

would go to students
in Chelsea.

Juwan:
They say they giving us a break
by giving us a little bit.

And we still have to pay

20-something, 30-something
thousand dollars.

We live in the projects.
How are you helping us?

We don't even have $20,000
in our savings account

or we wouldn't be here.

I want
to just get a loan.

It's a community, right?

But once you go
to 26th Street

and 10th Avenue,
it automatically splits.

Yasemin:
I noticed
this kind of irony

that these two communities
were right next to each other.

It just kind of made me wonder
how do they coexist?

I wanted to start
the conversation,

so I talked
to the Hudson Guild

and they suggested
meeting Juwan.

So, like, have you
ever met anyone from
the neighborhood?

No, I haven't.
It's a shame.

I don't know, like,
where I would even--
how I would even meet people.

-Uh-huh. Oh, okay.
- What are you-- have you
talked with Avenues students?

I haven't talked
to Avenues students at all.

To us,
Avenues is, like--

like just
made out of money
instead of bricks.

It's like money,
money, money, money.

So it's just,
like, all white kids
and snobby people

and stuck-up people,
all that types of stuff.

It's everything
but positive sometimes.
Most of the time.

What did you think
when you first, like,

seen the school
and then you seen, like,

a project across
the street from it?

Some of the students at Avenues,
even in my grade,

they've grown up
so much, like,

they've been told
their entire lives, like,

"You don't go
to neighborhoods like that.

- You don't go
to areas like that."
-Mm-hmm.

So, then, even though
they wanna rebel,

there's still
that fear in them

- that's, like,
almost just...
-Right.

instinctual to them
to go away.

I don't even know, like--
if I saw you on the street,

like-- and if you saw me
on the street,

would you strike up
a conversation?

Like, I don't--
I don't know.

If you come here
with a group of friends

to, like,
play basketball

or to just hang out
in the park,

we don't interact
'cause it's like--

nobody knows you,
so it's like,

"Who are you?
Why are you talking to me?"

That's how
they're gonna come off.

People from here
are so sensitive.

I don't know
how you can have
this tough exterior

and be so sensitive.

Hyisheem:
You know, I can go up
to an African-American male

who is a doctor,
whose family comes

from long lines
of Cornell University,
Yale, Harvard,

and he would
look at me

just like anyone else
would look at me--

as a kid
from the projects.

- Hey.
- Woman:Hey.
How's everything going?

- Everything's going great.
- What you got, another
year to go?

Yeah, I graduate
next May.

- Hey, boy. I'm proud of you.
- It's good to see you.

- So what's your major?
Business?
- Social work.

- All right, okay.
- Yeah, social work.

Yeah, that's good.
I'm happy for you.

- Thank you. Thank you.
- Proud of you.

You need to inspire some
of these other young-ass
knuckleheads out here.

- I'm serious.
You're laughing...
- Definitely, definitely.

Hyisheem:
I thought that being here,

"Oh, the cops
are picking on us
'cause we're black.

This is happening
because we're black."

But understand
that it's not racism here.

It's classism.

They don't care
about what color you are.

It's the fact
that you don't have
what they have.

Isabella:
This year, like, we need
a school newspaper,

magazine
"The High Liner."

I'm writing
an opinions piece

about-- I call it, like,
"The Hidden Truth."

I mean,
everyone knows
that the 1%

has more wealth
than the bottom 90%.

Nicholas:
I think that this country

in the past
has set people up

to become rich
and to make a lot of money

and that comes
with the freedom
that people have here,

free enterprise and...

Yeah, and it ends up
with 1% owning most of our--

Nicholas:
It has to end up
like that in some sense.

Why does it have to?
Is that just-- are you
talking about human nature

- or are you talking about--
-Yeah, I'm talking about
human nature.

Like, if you give people
the ability to say like,

"It's okay for you
to get this wealthy,"

then they're going
to want more money.

It's inequality, right?
It's not fair, right?

Like, I could've been born
on that side of the street.

Nicholas:
I mean, a lot of times
I just feel guilty

for going
to school here.

For not being
on the same--

or in the same
playing field
as other people.

I mean, we have
all these discussions

about privilege
in our school

and, like,
I think a lot of times

they end up blaming us
or that's what it sounds like.

But it's not
really our fault

that, like, we were
given the opportunity
to go to this school.

I'm sure if people
across the street

had the opportunity
to go to this school,

they would take
advantage of it.

-( beeps )
- Woman:No, no touch.
No touch.

En garde, ready?

Luc:
Avenues and other
private schools in the city

produce results,
but at a cost, right?

Like, they may have
more resources,

so therefore, it's, like,
a better school to go to,

but it can't-- it's like
it can't be available
to everyone

'cause barely anyone
has 45K to fork out.

I'm very nervous.

Even though I've been
to Avenues,

most people would think,
"Oh, well, he shouldn't
be nervous."

But I am
just because you don't know
what's out there yet

and because
it's always changing.

You can't really
prepare for it.

Brandon:
'Cause your mom's
in the projects.

My mom's in the projects.

Do you have a fear
about that,

like as far
as where she gonna be
in the next 10 years?

- Do you know?
- I actually do, you know?

She told me all the time
they're gonna move her out

or she's gonna
have to end up--

they're gonna give her
money to move out
or whatever.

These buildings,
they're not gonna pay
for that shit.

That's what
everybody's saying.

- Everybody says that now.
-They're gonna buy us out.

We're just seeing
buildings being built.

Like, what's that
over there, you know?

It's just like
a big question mark
on what's gonna happen next.

Wilson:I feel like
they're already starting
to push us out.

I feel like I live
under a cloud of darkness,

but surrounded
by happiness.

Yasmin Rodriguez:
I just don't understand why
the old can't be with the new.

I have
so much history here

and it's just like
this is what I told
my landlord.

I said, "This is your property,
but this is my home.

And I was like, "And you can't
take that from me."

Carden:
Let's stick together.

Let's keep the faith
and save our homes!

( cheering )

Carden:
Like so many buildings
here in the city,

we're now experiencing
new landlords coming in

gutting the building,
renovating all the apartments

and then renting them
at very high prices.

But in the process,

they're also displacing
the tenants

that were originally
living there.

Johnson:
Illegal construction,

the shutting off of gas,
holes in the wall,

unsafe conditions
without proper fire exits.

This may be ground zero
given the value of real estate

and the rapid change that
we've seen on the West Side.

Andrew Rai:
Firefighters,
schoolteachers,

social workers,
sanitary workers--

all these people
are driven out
of the city.

If you're gonna
drive us all out,

who's gonna clean
your streets?

Who's gonna teach
your children?

Who's gonna protect
these streets?

Who's gonna
put out the fires?

I'm shocked
that this can happen
in our country.

And if we continue with this
the way we are,

where is it gonna lead?

Where-- is it gonna be
an apartheid? Really?

Rodriguez:
I have a daughter,
a 14-year-old.

I'm gonna cry.

She said--
( sobs )

She said it's because
she knows how much my home
means to me.

That she's gonna--
she's gonna make sure

that she'll have--
she'll have enough money

to buy me my apartment.

That's her goal.

She says, "Ma, I know
that you sacrificed

to put me
in Catholic school

so I can have
a better education."

She knows that I've done
all that I can for her.

And the only thing that I want
is to be able to live

in my home
that I was born in.

That--
this is all I know

and she says
that's the first thing
she's gonna do.

She says,
"Ma, I'm gonna make it."

We would like to start
with a moment of silence
for Luc,

who was a really
incredible member
of our Avenues community.

Edgar:
The first thing
I tell anybody about Luc

is that he was one
of the f--

maybe-- I don't know
what happened there,

but at least to everyone,
he was one of the funniest,
kindest,

and just one of the most
pleasant people to be around.

I think wherever he went
he made friends,

so that's why it shocked
so many of us.

Yasemin:
He was somebody
who was in my life.

And then to think
that he's here one day

and he's gone the next
by his choi-- that was
just like a very--

it was very hard
to accept that.

Edgar:
The actual funeral
was so packed,

they had to put
hundreds of chairs outside

and it was
pretty touching.

I just couldn't comprehend it
for quite a long time

that somebody
so happy, so cool

just would be
in a situation
that caused that.

Reporter:
In just a few minutes,

President Obama's gonna
address the nation,

telling Americans
what steps he is taking

that will affect
millions of immigrants

who are in this country
illegally.

Barbecho:
If I got the chance
to get my papers,

I think I can knock the door
and get a better job

and then buy
something for you,

something for her
or for her, too.

So, let's hope he's here.

- Woman:Let's go!
- Obama:If you have children
who are American citizens

-or legal residents...
- Ah!

...and you're willing to pay
your fair share of taxes...

- Montero:That's you.
- That's you.

...you'll be
able to apply to stay
in this country temporarily

-without fear
of deportation.
- Montero:Yes.

You can come out
of the shadows

-and get right
with the law.
- Oh, my God.

- ( cheering )
- Man:There he is.

So we can make it.

Yay! Joel, come here
and hug your papi.

- Miley come.
Group hug!
- Group hug!

Tackle, tackle, tackle.

Joel:
I didn't want
him to leave

'cause, you know,
he's my dad.

I really--
I love him.

He's, like, the best.

The protector
of my family.

Yasemin:
I've started a project
called "115 Steps."

It's composed of both photos
and audio interviews.

The title comes from--
because there's 115 steps

between Avenues
and the Chelsea-Elliott
housing project.

( shutter clicking )

Including both kids
from Avenues and kids
from Chelsea-Elliott

and I kind of just asked
about each person's life

and what their thoughts are
on gentrification
and Avenues.

There are rumors, like,
Avenues has a chocolate
fountain in it.

I want a chocolate fountain.
We don't have one,
but I'd like that.

Lucas:
I think there's a big
socioeconomic divide

that keeps us separate.

As much as we try to say
that it doesn't matter,

really, that's a big part
of who we are.

Josh:
I believe a lot of people
from Chelsea get jealous

'cause they want
the same opportunity,

but the opportunity's never
been passed down to them.

Juwan:
He's from
across the street.

- And this is my friend Brandon.
- Brandon, nice to meet you.

- This is Yasemin.
- Yasemin:This is Isabella.

- Hi, how are you?
-Hi, nice to meet you.

- How are you?
-Brandon, nice to meet you.

Yasemin:
So up here
is the cafeteria.

- Brandon:It feels like
a museum in here, like...
-( Yasemin chuckles )

- It's everything looks nice.
You just don't touch it.
- Juwan: Oohs and ahhs.

Downstairs, you had, like,
that huge touch board

- screen thing.
-( girls chuckle )

Josh:
Honestly, like,
I'm just astonished.

Crazy!

- Look at that!
- Cool, bro.

Yo, I wish they had
a basketball court
like this.

What? What?

Yasemin:
I think one amazing thing
about Avenues

is the trust that they have
in their students.

They will get behind
your project,

letting you discover
and explore,

like, interests
that you have.

( camera clicking )

Josh:
Being in the gym is kind of,
like, an emotional feeling.

It just-- it hurts
a little bit

to go back and to have to
face reality

and see where I have to go
after this.

This is the blog
for "115 Steps."

If you go on Google Maps,
there's 115 steps

between Avenues
and the Chelsea-Elliott
housing projects.

I could've also
totally made up that number

- and nobody would know.
- ( all laughing )

I know.
I thought you did.

No, but it's confirmed
by Google Maps.

How does it feel
when you look right
across the street

and you see
the projects

where there's, like,
less fortunate people?

Yasemin:
A lot of identity
searching for people

of, like, our age and of our
socioeconomic class

and who have
opportunities like us

is, "What is my role
in this and what is
my responsibility?"

'Cause I think
there is one.

It just starts with us
communicating like this.

As they see us
growing up and mingling

with each other,
they're gonna
understand, like,

"Okay, I don't have to
act like this."

Ironically, we live--
it's the land of opportunity,

yet it seems like we have
a lot more opportunities
than you guys have

and I don't really know
why that is.

I don't really think
there is, you know?

Brandon:
That's just how life is.

-We're in America.
- It's America.

- Yeah.
- It's America
and it sucks.

Brandon:
It's more about--
it's more than racism.

It's more about wealth.
It's who controls the money.

Josh:
My sister,
she's a little girl

and she dreams
to come here.

Like, it would honestly
change her life.

This is exciting.
You've been in there before?

- Never.
- Oh, my God.

It's like being
in Disney World,
I'm telling you.

So, this is
the middle school
common area.

Doubles as the library,
doubles as study space.

You find students
doing small group work

or projects out here.

Acevedo:
This is a really good school,

and I believe if you're gonna
come to a community,

to be part
of a community,

you should give back
to the community.

And my goal
is to make sure,

especially the residents
from low-income development,

has the opportunity
to get into this school.

Woman:
We will graduate students

who are accomplished
in the academic skills
one would expect--

at ease
beyond their borders,

great leaders
when they can be,

good followers
when they should be.

Rosa:
I wanna be a leader because
I wanna show other people

that are-- 'cause I used
to be a follower.

Okay, I don't wanna
say that,

but I used to be
a follower, it's true.

I used to, like,
copy other girls

and be, like--
they used to be
all sassy and stuff.

I used to be like...
( clicking tongue )

I used to be
like all that stuff,
and I still have it.

I'll be like,
"Yeah, mm-hmm, girl."

I still have
that little thing,
but I don't be, like,

following other people,
what they do.

Like if--
monkey see, monkey do,

monkey get
in trouble, too.

I don't do that stuff.

If you look in here,

we have two classrooms
that are painted

with IdeaPaint
so you can write
on the walls.

Can you take the iPad home
or it stays in the school?

Woman:
You can take it home
if you're a little bit older.

The younger students
leave theirs here.

The kindergarteners
leave their iPads here.

- What about the fifth grade?
-Fifth grade, you can
take it home.

- Yes!
-( women chuckling )

( marching band playing )

( people cheering )

David:
For 15 years,
we have worked to secure

the entire
historic structure

and open it
to the public

and today,
that part of our mission

-has been achieved.
-( applause )

( cheering )

Scofidio:
When we first looked
at the High Line,

the history had
many layers to it.

There's the billboards
that were stuck up
on the High Line

because, obviously,
cars passing under
the High Line

would see
the billboard.

We decided to keep
the frame of the billboard.

The frame takes something
which is just a general view

and makes it
a very particular view.

Oh, my apartment
is right there.

Around my mom's times
and my dad's times,

this was a bad area.

Everything
is changing now.

They got the High Line,
which is so beautiful.

Oh, you wanna see me run?

You wanna have a race?

Starting now!

No! I hate you,
you little midget!

I can get that, too.

I've been here
a lot of times,
like, a hundred.

David:
We're a free
New York City public park

open to the public,
no charge,

creating places
where everybody,
regardless of background,

regardless of income,
can come together.

( band playing )

( cheering )

Rosa:
The people, the audience,

they gave me $5.

It was like,
"Oh, my God!

My first money
from a stranger."

I mean, that felt good.
I mean, I love this.

This is, like,
the best thing ever.

Let's see down there!

♪ Yeah, I wanna try ♪

♪ I wanna make it
to the top ♪

♪ And if I don't ♪

♪ And if I fall down,
I'm gonna make it up ♪

♪ And don't you worry ♪

♪ 'Cause I'll be fine ♪

♪ I will make it,
I will make it ♪

♪ Oh, I will
make it happen,
all right ♪

♪ Yeah. ♪

( music playing )