Chelsea (working title)
Chelsea (working title)
LOGLINE:
Through the voices of its residents and the vision of three of its leaders, “Chelsea” (working title) is a portrait of a long-marginalized Latinx immigrant city in New England, fighting to define its own future in the midst of ongoing crises and upheaval.
PROJECT SYNOPSIS:
Over half a million commuters a day pass to and from Boston on the bridges, buses and commuter rail that fragment the smallest and most historically diverse city in Massachusetts. On the iconic Tobin Bridge they pass over Chelsea’s tightly packed triple-deckers and the towering piles of rock salt. The flight path from Logan Airport flies over the community parks on Chelsea’s waterfront that abut massive storage tanks holding millions of gallons of jet fuel and one of the largest natural gas terminals in the country.
This sanctuary city has seen 400 years of new arrivals land, struggle, thrive, and inevitably move on or be pushed out. Their fights echo the struggles of each previous wave of immigrants. Each generation’s exodus making room for the next. Chelsea’s present-day battles – environmental pollution, urban renewal, COVID, ICE deportations, housing shortages and gentrification – are all exacerbated by the same circumstance that helped create its opportunities: being in the shadow of Boston. Will the success of this generation trigger the eventual fall of this gateway city? Will the gentrification of Chelsea inevitably swallow and transform it into ‘Boston over the bridge’?
Associated Members
Sabrina Aviles
SEE MEMBER PROFILEJenny Alexander
SEE MEMBER PROFILE
