Free fun! The Free Movie Season in NYC

A diversion from the madness out there...

XOXO Betsy Combier

Free summer movie season starts tonight in Central Park with a screening of And God Created Woman, presented by the Francophile Films on the Green series. New Yorkers have a cornucopia of gratis outdoor cinema to choose from during the next three months, and to help sort it out we're putting together this compendium of all the free outdoor movie screenings in NYC this summer, from Bayside to Bryant Park.

This year's lineup is incredibly varied with something for everyone, whether you're stoked for Spongebob or fascinated by 1980s "ball culture." These screenings aren't ticketed, but many of them fill up fast, so be sure to show up early to get the best spot.

Central Park
Indulge your inner francophile with French film And God Created Woman (Cedar Hill at 8:30 pm) or catch '80s blockbusters and a pre-movie DJ set (between Sheep Meadow and 72nd Street Cross Drive) at Central Park's popular summer movie series. The music begins at 6:30 p.m. and goes until opening credits at 8 p.m.

May 29: And God Created Woman
August 25: Fame 
August 26: The Blues Brothers
August 27: Airplane!
August 28: Raging Bull
August 29: Superman II

Washington Square Park (5th Ave & Waverly Place) 
Keep up with Films on the Green at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Show up a little before 8:30 p.m. to snag a good spot.

June 5: Caramel
June 12: Pepe Le Moko

Crochern Park (35th Avenue & Cross Island Parkway) 
Hang out by the water at Crochern Park in Bayside, Queens for this new children's classic that adults can thoroughly enjoy. The screening starts at 8:30 p.m.

June 5: The Lego Movie

Riverside Park 
Riverside Park will start off by hosting Goha and Queen to Play as part of Films on the Green. Both movies begin at 8:30 p.m at Pier 1. The rest of the lineup will take place at 8 p.m. on the 72nd Street Track and Lawn.

June 11: Hyde Park on Hudson 
July 9: Pride and Prejudice 
July 10: Goha 
July 17: Queen to Play 
August 13: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Betsy Head Park 
Head over to Betsy Head Park at Strauss and Durmont in Brownsville for a music performance by DJ Fulano at 7 pm followed by the newest version of Annie at 9 pm.

June 14: Annie

Randall's Island Park (Touchdown of the 103rd Street Footbridge)
Randall's Island Park is showing three outdoor movies this season including the pinnacle of summertime terror, Jaws. The screenings begin at 7:30 pm. Picnics are encouraged.

June 15: Jaws 
July 13: Back to the Future Part II
August 17: Frozen

Tompkins Square Park (500 East 9th Street)
Like all movies featured in this year's Films on the Green, both draw from the Mediterranean as inspiration. All movies are in French with English subtitles and begin at 8:30 pm.

June 19: Priceless 
June 26: Zarafa

Herbert Von King Park (670 Lafayette Avenue)
Along with the movie, there will also be music performances by the Bullitts and DJ Spinna. Jeymes Samuel of the Bullitts is also the director of They Die By Dawn and presents his music set as a prelude to the film so make sure to arrive at 7 p.m. to catch both.

June 21: They Die By Dawn

Bryant Park (42nd Street and 5th Avenue)
In keeping with tradition, Bryant Park is hosting an outdoor movie every Monday evening from late June to the end of August. The lawn opens at 5 p.m. for blanket turf wars picnics, and the films begin at sunset. If you don't have someone on site to grab lawn space at the stroke of 5, you can pretty much forget it.

June 22: Ghostbusters 
June 29: The Killers
July 6: The Poseidon Adventure
July 13: I'm No Angel 
July 20: Badlands 
July 27: Footloose 
August 3: Marathon Man 
August 10: Desk Set 
August 17: Chinatown 
August 24: Back to the Future

Prospect Park (Bandshell)
Stop by the Bandshell at 7:30 p.m. to experience a night of film in one of the best parks of the city. Documentary Paris is Burning explores the '80s Harlem drag balls and The Son of Sheik will be accompanied by a live orchestra playing the score. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase.

June 26: Paris is Burning
July 17: The Son of Sheik

Rockaway Beach Park (Beach 17th Street and Seagirt Boulevard)
Check out these kid-friendly screenings at Rockaway Beach, hosted by their Movie Nights in the Rockaways series. Shows begin at dusk (or around 8 p.m.), but be sure to give yourself ampletransportation time.

July 7: The Iron Giant
August 4: Back to the Future Part II

Coney Island (1001 Boardwalk West)
Coney Island will be hosting Flicks on the Beach on Mondays all through July and August. A giant inflatable screen will be set up at 1001 Boardwalk West turning the beach into a walk up theater. Bring your swimsuit and made a day of it. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

July 7: Frozen
July 21: Iron Man 3
July 28: The Lego Movie
August 4: American Hustle
August 11: Dirty Dancing
August 18: Grease
August 25: Gravity
September 2: ET

McCarren Park (Bedford & North 12th Street)
This year's SummerScreen roster at McCarren Park hits all the classic summer high points, but if your favorite movie isn't on the list, cast your ballot for the audience pick. There will also be food and live music starting at 6 p.m. Film begins at dusk.

July 8: Clueless
July 15: Wet Hot American Summer
July 22: Dirty Dancing
July 29: Dazed and Confused
August 5: Jurassic Park
August 12: Audience Pick (TBA)

Hudson River Flicks
This summer Hudson River Park is alternating between "big hit" Wednesdays and family friendly Fridays(note: they are two different venues). Movies start around 8.30 pm. Be sure to grab a bag of thefree popcorn before it runs out.

At Hudson River Park’s Pier 63 Lawn (West 23rd Street and the Hudson River in Chelsea)

July 8: The Imitation Game
July 15: Neighbors
July 22: Selma
July 29: St. Vincent
August 5: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
August 12: Boyhood
August 19: Interstellar

At Hudson River Park’s Pier 46 (Charles Street and the Hudson River in Greenwich Village)

July 10: Spongebob: Sponge Out of Water
July 17: The BoxTrolls
July 24: Pee Wee's Big Adventure
July 31: Annie
August 7: Jumanji
August 14: Paddington
August 21: Hook

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (Pier 86 West 46th Street and 12th Avenue)
Watch a movie on the flight deck at the Intrepid Musuem. Each screening will be introduced by a special guest, including Jeffrey Kluger, co-author of the book Apollo 13. The event begins at sunset, but free tickets will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, so arrive early.

July 9: October Sky
July 16: Moon
July 23: Close Encounters of the Third Kind 
July 30: Apollo 13
August 6: Wall-E

Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 1 334 Furman Street)
Brooklyn Bridge Park is the host of this year's Movies With A View. Music kicks off the evening at 6 p.m. followed by the movie at sunset. There will also be various concessions for sale and photo contests with prizes so you can win yourself a souvenir.

July 9: High Noon
July 16: Sharknado 2: The Second One
July 23: Attack the Block
July 30: Clue
August 6: Friday
August 13: Dr. Strangelove
August 20: Dazed and Confused
August 27: Die Hard

St. Mary's Park (St Mary's St bet. St Ann's Av and Jackson Av)
Anyone in the mood for Cuban culture should be in the Bronx on July 12th, where live music will accompany a documentary on the life of Celia Cruz. The show kicks off at 7 p.m. as a part of the City Parks Foundation's SummerStage series.

July 12: Celia: The Queen; music by Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros

Queensbridge Park (Queensboro Bridge, 41 Rd., 40 Ave)
SummerStage continues with Pete Rock and a look into the life of hip-hop legend Nas. Get there by 7 p.m.

July 19: Time is Illmatic; music by Pete Rock

Transmitter Park (2 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn)
Films on the Green wraps up the last two weeks of July at 8:30 pm in Transmitter Park.

July 24: La Derive 
July 31: La Colectionneuse

Carl Schurz Park (1483 York Avenue) 
Carl Schurz Park will be screening two movies this summer in the basketball court at 8:30 p.m. There will aptly be free snow cones at Frozen and popcorn at both movies while supplies last.

July 28: Frozen
August 11: Adam's Rib

Rumsey Playfield (Central Park SummerStage)
There's no doubt many of your favorite artists can credit their early success to Stretch and Bobbito, whose radio show helped introduce Jay-Z, Biggie, Nas, Fat Joe, the Fugees and so many more to the world. Their 25th anniversary celebration will kick off at 5 p.m., with DJ sets and a screening of their documentary.

August 16: Stretch and Bobbito; Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito 25th Anniversary Concert

This list will be updated until every last free outdoor movie on earth is obsessively compiled and sorted. And if you'd prefer to watch your free movies drink-in-hand, Canal Bar and Café Habana have you covered. It's also worth noting that Rooftop Films has an amazing list this year, but only a select few screenings are free. Tickets are 15 dollars, and can be bought on their website.

With Joanna Purpich

Carmen Farina on Charters and the Future

NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina

From Betsy Combier:

It's about Carmen. It's always about Carmen.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña takes questions from parents, educators at packed Bronx forum

BY LAURA BULT , DENIS SLATTERY 

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, May 29, 2015, 1:02 AM

LINK
From a mother's worries over failing schools to a teacher’s push for mental health services, the city schools boss opened her inbox to more than 500 concerned parents and educators at a packed town hall forum Thursday in the Bronx.

They traveled from as near as Mott Hall Science and Technology in the South Bronx and from as far away as Bushwick, Brooklyn, to drill Chancellor Carmen Fariña on hot-topic issues like the expansion of the city’s gifted and talented programs, teacher evaluations and school performance.

“What are you doing about professional development and abandoning programs that do not work?” Brooklyn teacher Darnese Olivieri demanded to raucous, standing-room-only cheers from fellow teachers in the audience during the “Fight for Their Future” forum co-hosted by the Daily News and the community group Metro IAF.

Q&A with Carmen Fariña from the town hall forum on city schools

Fariña, grappling with a school system that has been struggling for decades, promised to visit an Eva Moscowitz-run Success Academy charter school, gave no opinion on tax credits for kids who leave public schools for private institutions, supported spreading PTA-raised funds from school to school, and said teacher evaluations should be based on a combination of student test scores and peer review.

“I do think the best way to get better is peer review, teacher to teacher, principal to principal,” Fariña said.

The chancellor fielded tough questions from parents, teachers and education advocates about the difficulties of accessing good schools, why bad schoolscontinue to fail, and why some city classrooms are out of control — and she offered to keep listening to parents and teachers.

“I read the Daily News, and in the last forum I was faulted because I didn’t leave my email behind,” she said before producing a large sign with her email address.

“I do believe we need to use test scores for a portion of the evaluations,” Fariña said. “The percentage we use is up for debate. In my opinion, 30% is acceptable.”

Teacher Leton Hall used the open dialogue to ask about mental health services at struggling schools.

“As a teacher, everybody has to pick up the slack for some of these students in troubled situations,” said Hall, 34, a science teacher at the Mott Hall Science and Technology Academy.

Fariña, who touted the addition of 250 counselors earlier this week, agreed that more help is needed.

“All our community schools or after-school programs have to have mentalhealth clinics in their schools, no excuses. We’re looking to see how to use co-location sites so schools can share resources,” she said referring to separate schools housed within one building.

She said her plan was to boost the number of social workers and counselors at schools across the city.

Jessica Franco Ramos, of Brooklyn, brought the charter versus public school debate to the forefront by comparing the level of services available to her daughter, a charter school student, and her brother in public school.

“My daughter is currently a sixth-grader and, day by day, I see how she’s excelling thanks to the support of her teachers,” Ramos said. But her brother, for whom she’s the primary caregiver, struggles to find support and resources at a public school. “When I reached out to his guidance counselor she told me that she had 400 students to work with in addition to him,” she said.

Fariña was clear that she believes improving public schools was the answer, not adding more charters.

“I want to be very clear that there are great charter schools and great public schools,” Fariña responded. The forum followed The News’ hard-hitting “Fight for Their Future” series that focused on issues in public schools across the city.

“The Daily News takes very seriously the coverage of education because we know how important it is to our readers and to the city,” said Daily News Editorial Page Editor Arthur Browne.

The event, moderated by Errol Louis with co-moderator Ben Chapman of The News, was held at the Immaculate Conception School in the heart of the struggling South Bronx School District 7.

The long-foundering education district has the lowest ratio of elementary and middle schoolers proficient in reading, just 10%, and the lowest number of kids proficient in math, only 13%.

Forum participant Tracy Woodall, 44, pulled her kids from District 7 schools after finding the quality of education inconsistent.

“It’s a disconnect, no meetings, no nothing,” Woodall said. “It’s like you’re going from one grade to the next and it’s like going to another school.”

Woodall sends her kids to KIPP Academy charter school in Melrose, a 40-minute trip each way.

“I feel bad being a parent from the Bronx, we shouldn’t have to travel outside our district to find quality education.”