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'Sunset Parker' Hopes to Highlight Diversity in Local Storytelling Event

By Nikhita Venugopal | December 10, 2014 8:51am
 Sunset Park, the local green space from which the neighborhood gets its name, is bound by Fifth Avenue, 41st Street, Seventh Avenue and 44th Street.
Sunset Park, the local green space from which the neighborhood gets its name, is bound by Fifth Avenue, 41st Street, Seventh Avenue and 44th Street.
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Cat Williams

SUNSET PARK — Sunset Park residents are hosting their own storytelling event, inviting locals to share personal stories and memories in the neighborhood.

“Real Stories of Sunset Park” is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. and calls on people from all backgrounds to take five minutes to tell their stories, said Tony Giordano, a longtime resident and curator of the popular Facebook page “Sunset Parker.”

Giordano, who is hoping to host the event regularly, is giving people of all ethnicities a chance to share their memories — something a similar storytelling event by a nonprofit group failed to accomplish, he said.

The Five Boro Story Project held “Stories at Sunset” in October and featured hyperlocal stories from four well-known community members, along with an open mic session.

But Giordano said he was “appalled” that none of the featured speakers were of Puerto Rican descent.

“You can’t tell the story of Sunset Park without including Puerto Ricans,” said Giordano, who was initially one of the speakers along with City Councilman Carlos Menchaca and filmmaker Betty Yu.

Five Boro founder Bridget Bartolini, who did not respond to request for comment, told Giordano at the time that the open mic session would give everyone a chance to represent their communities, Giordano said.

But just a few days before the event, Giordano’s name was pulled from the roster.

“When you have four featured speakers… they really have to be more representative,” he said.

While there will be no hired translators at the upcoming event, English-speaking locals who know common local languages like Spanish and Mandarin would be able to help, he said.

Giordano is also hoping to create a library of the stories to help preserve locals’ personal histories in the neighborhood. Rob Aguilar, a resident who hosts a Sunset Park podcast series, will record the stories for posterity.

While Giordano had initially expected a small, intimate group, popularity for the event — at Sunset Park's public library at 5108 Fourth Ave. — grew through Facebook and around 40 people have signed up to attend as of Tuesday. 

“It’s good to start off with a big splash,” he said.