New York Stories

September 11, 2009

High school in New York doesn’t make any sense to Mexican newcomer Diego, who wants to get a job and send money home. When his Uncle Juan learns Diego has dropped out, he gets busy helping the teenager figure things out.

Real-life scenario? It certainly could be. It’s also the plot of an episode of “We Are New York,” a new TV series produced jointly by CUNY and the Mayor’s Office for Adult education. According to Sandra Poster, a professor in BMCC’s Speech, Communications and Theater Arts Department and one of the show’s three writers, “‘We Are New York’ is intended to help immigrants improve their English skills and make their way in New York City by engaging them in entertaining half-hour dramas.” The nine-episode series premiered on WNYC-TV last summer.

Immigrants are the stars

Each episode depicts an important issue from everyday life—health, education, social relationships and even banking and personal finance—and features a different cast in a new NYC neighborhood. “The idea is to put the spotlight on immigrants and show how they contribute to the quality of life in New York,” says Poster.

Story themes and messaging were set by the Mayor’s office—sometimes leading to daunting creative challenges. “Initially, we had no idea how we could ever make a drama about banking interesting,” Poster recalls. “Then we decided to turn it into a romantic comedy and called it ‘Love and Money.’ Somehow we managed to create an appealing story while working in information about FDIC insurance and earned income tax credits.”

Speaking slowly but realistically

Another challenge lay in the fact that the cast members would have to act realistically while speaking slower than normal, for the benefit of viewers with limited English language skills. “We had to write a lot of repetition into the script and even find ways for actors to write things down,” Poster says.

Their creative brief also required that they build in specific messages determined by the Mayor’s Office. An episode about immigrants becoming active in their children’s PTA drives home the point “that your child has a right to an education regardless of whether or not you are a documented immigrant,” says Poster. An episode about domestic violence makes it clear “that no one will ask to see your papers if you need to report a case of domestic violence to the police.”

In developing concepts and story lines, Poster and her co-writers drew on their own experiences as well as input from subject matter experts. “The three of us always worked as a team,” she says. “It’s been said that you can’t write by committee, but the fact is, you can and we did—right at my kitchen table. It was one of the most satisfying professional experiences of my life.”

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Professor Sandra Poster is a writer for “We Are New York”, a CUNY TV series intended to help immigrants improve their English.
  • The nine-episode series premiered on WNYC-TV last summer
  • Each episode depicts an important issue from everyday life and features a different cast in a new NYC neighborhood.

share this story »