Documentary highlights literary crisis in the Bronx

It’s hard to believe that in a borough of 1.5 million people, the Bronx only has a single brick and mortar bookstore. And at one moment, it had none. Once upon a time I would take my daughter for playdates at the Barnes & Noble in Bay Plaza- I’d grab a coffee with mom friends while we read books to our little ones on the floor of the children’s section. And if you’ve been following Bronxmama for a long time, then you will remember I would also post events happening at the only independent bookstore in the Bronx at the time- Books in the Hood. But before I knew it, both were gone and the only book-based events or spaces I had left to promote was at local libraries. A new documentary, 1.5 Million by Bronxite Gregory Hernandez, highlights the literary crisis facing the Bronx- and what resilient Bronxites have been doing to tackle it.

Watch the trailer:

Hernandez has been working on the documentary since 2017 and it is finally set to premiere this weekend at a screening at AMC Bay Plaza. The documentary highlights the literary crisis in the Bronx and what some Bronxites have done to help fight it-including opening an independent bookstore, traveling bookstores, and other efforts to keep children of the Bronx reading.

For more information, visit www.onepointfivemillion.com.