Description: No audio at the very beginning. Paul deGive interviews Jim Cooney (Charlestown resident) about the Bunker Hill Housing Project near Bunker Hill Street in Charlestown. Cooney says that young people in the project are often blamed for problems caused by outsiders. DeGive interviews Father William Joy (St. Mary's Parish) about urban renewal in Charlestown, the construction of the Mystic-Tobin Bridge and conditions in the Bunker Hill Housing Project. Joy says that Charlestown has been torn apart by urban renewal; that many residents of the housing project are unemployed. DeGive interviews a teenage project resident who says that the bad reputation of the youth in the project is exaggerated and unfair. He says that anti-busing parents are fueling the emotions of the youth. Joy says that a great number of students from the projects are being bused out of Charlestown; that students from the wealthier parts of the neighborhood are enrolled in parochial schools. Joy faults the Catholic Church for being out of touch with the needs and problems of project residents, and proposes an increased presence of priests in the Boston city projects. Racist graffiti on some of the project buildings.
0:00:11: Visual: Shots of a street near Bunker Hill Housing Project in Charlestown. (Project is near Monument Street and Bunker Hill Street.) Paul deGive sets up interview with Father William Joy (St. Mary's Parish) about urban renewal in Charlestown. Shot of the Mystic-Tobin Bridge. DeGive talks to Joy and Jim Cooney (Charlestown resident) informally. Cooney is considering leaving Charlestown 0:02:13: V: DeGive asks Cooney about troubled youth in the housing project. Cooney says that there are difficult kids everywhere; that housing projects in Boston are poorly maintained and patrolled; that outsiders often cause problems in the project; that kids from the project are often blamed for crimes they did not commit. Cooney says that he had no problem living in the housing project; that outside agitators are creating trouble in the housing project. 0:06:05: V: Shots of Mystic-Tobin Bridge. DeGive interviews Joy. Joy says that the building of the Tobin Bridge had a negative effect on Charlestown; that homes were torn down for its construction; that Charlestown has been torn apart by urban renewal projects; that the Bunker Hill Housing Project was always controversial because homes were torn down to build it. Joy reports that there are 1140 units in the project; that it is one of the largest housing projects in New England. Joy walks away. Shot of overpass running across street. Shots of housing project. 0:09:37: V: DeGive interviews Joy near the expressway overpass. Children wander by occasionally. Joy says that there is a lot of unemployment in the projects; that some residents lost their jobs when the Charlestown Navy Yard closed; that other project residents work at other factories in Charlestown. Shot of expressway from underneath; of "no busing" graffiti on the walls of the project. 0:12:53: V: DeGive interviews a teenager, Danny Sullivan (project resident), in front of a wall with "no busing" and "IRA" graffiti. Danny says that there are only a few kids causing violence in the project; that the media isn't covering the housing project fairly; that a few kids start trouble and others are drawn in; that anti-busing parents make the situation worse by fueling the emotions of the kids; that kids in Charlestown don't deserve their bad reputation. Shots of young kids who have stopped to listen to the interview. 0:15:34: V: DeGive interviews Joy in a courtyard of the housing project. Joy says that there is a high percentage of students from the project being bused out of Charlestown; that there is a high percentage of students from the project enrolled in public school; that students from the wealthier parts of Charlestown are enrolled in parochial schools. Shot of broken glass on the pavement. Joy has an off-camera exchange with a young kid. Shots of the housing project from the outside; of "ROAR" graffiti. 0:17:48: V: DeGive interviews Joy near St. Catherine of Siena Church. Shots of church. "White power" graffiti is visible on a wall near the church. Joy says that the church and other institutions have failed the project by not being visible and accessible to the people; that the church is out of touch with the residents of Charlestown; that the church needs to make a stronger commitment to reach project residents; that the nuns are visible in the projects; that no priests live in any of the housing projects in Boston. Joy says that local priests have made an effort to reach out to the people during the busing crisis; that priests can provide support and direction.
Collection: Evening Compass, The
Date Created: 09/09/1975