Moose Productions Blog

That’s right, for the first time, tape’s a rolling. And we’ve made some big decisions about the documentary.

First of all, We’ve decided to focus primarily on the White House Hotel.

Why? You ask…

Well, only at the White House Hotel is there a true sense of conflict.
35 older men are “permanent” residents at the White House. Many of them work at the hotel to pay their rent. At one point, the White House Hotel was only made up of men, mostly men who had fallen on tough times. In some cases, midshipmen or transient workers would stay at the White House to save cash before leaving port, but as a whole most of the men had moved in from the streets, or had been recently released from jail.

Now, the White House Hotel is undergoing a massive transition. The majority of its occupants are travelers under the age of thirty. The owner of the White House, Meyer, has recently begun the process of converting the “hotel” from a flophouse into a sweet and clean youth hostel. This change is in many ways fitting, because the neighborhood around the White House is undergoing a similar transition.

The first day of shooting was a good one. We spent about an hour on a park bench with an individual by the name of Thompson. A tall lanky fellow with deeply wrinkled brown skin and only four teeth. When we asked him how he lost his teeth, he responded it was from Pyrea, a gum disease. The cigarettes he smoked as we shared stories may have been a factor too. It does seem that the teeth he has left are strong however.
Old Man Thompson is 68 but looks 86 and has a comforting air. A few decades back, he worked as a trucker and used to drive goods straight down to Panama. His voice is distinctive, wise and yet at many moments laughable.
we asked him about everything there is to ask.
He’s got 6 kids, whom he doesn’t interfere with. 4 of them are out in california. He played sports, and went to a baseball game at Shea about 4 years ago. It was clear to me that when Thompson said he “doesn’t interfere” with his children, that he really means, he’s not involved and may well have never been.
Thompson, like many of the old men we’ve talked to, has a sage-like quality.
When he spoke of friends he said:
“You ain’t gonna have but one friend in life. And I’m talking about a real friend, someone through thick and thin. It’s easy to find someone to pal around with.”
When we asked him what the best part of life was he started laughing and said:

“Living. Shoot man, Living. That and having good health. Cause being rich ain’t worth a damn if you don’t have good health.”

Since Thompson moved to the White House two years ago, 3 men have died. 1 of an overdose and 2 of old age.

After a while, Thompson told me he was headed to the park so we said goodbye.

Inside, we found a British Couple in their early twenties. Talking to them after talking to Thompson was extremely bizarre. It was like watching Late Late Night with Carson Daly after having just seen Schindler’s List. The couple had just finished a 2 night stay at the White House, and were planning their travels to Denver, Co.

They had enjoyed their stay but had only spent their time at the Hotel sleeping.

Such different experiences under the same roof.
It’s clear to see that before long, the White House won’t have any more room for the aging men.

After the brief interview with the British Couple, we got our first opportunity to bring a camera into the rooms of the elder men. It was quite a sight. One long row of doors with cubicles. The cubicles are not long enough to fit a man unless he curls into the fetal position. Sam, who we talked to weeks ago, has the most ornately decorated room, room #167. He’s been sleeping there for the past 8 years. I photographed their bathroom which was old but clean and was greeted by a few stares as men walked past. It was not a feel of danger in the long dark hallway. But a feel of decay. It’s clear this hallway and the men in it are walking history. These days of their lives will soon be remembered as the last remnant of what was once the infamous Bowery.

It’s time to get the ball rolling.

Why are we making a documentary about flophouses in New York City?

3 reasons:

1) Every person has a story. But not every person has someone to tell their story. At the flophouses, there are a lot of strong old men who have seen so much in their years. We want to hear their stories, we want to know their daily life and we want to absorb their wisdom.

2) We feel that flophouses are going extinct. In twenty years, this part of New York City’s infrastucture may have completely disappeared. We want to capture it before it vanishes, in the most rudimentary sense of the word, we want to document the passing of the flop.

3) We are hungry to make our first feature length documentary film. We are young filmmakers. We have made numerous short films, we have a strong creative and journalistic background, and we want to use it.

In our initial research we have found a very compelling lead.

George an old man of 74 lives alone in a flophouse at 106 Bowery.

The current owners are waiting him out.

George will be the first subject of this documentary, which is still in search of a title.

Here’s the article we found: George

Now we only need a Greek translator to speak with George. Shouldn’t be to hard to find, we’re based in Astoria.

As research continues, we’ll make an impromptu list of potential subjects and flophouses to document.
We’ve already gotten the go ahead to shoot at The White House Hotel. It is a beautiful old building that doubles as a youth hostel and a flophouse. The “permanent” residents stay for $10 a night on the somewhat seedier first floor. The second and third floors are reserved for the freshfaced European tourists.

As far as I can tell there are eight, count’em eight flophouses in NYC.

1) The White House Hotel (340 Bowery) Founded 1918

2) The Sunshine Hotel Founded 1922
(There are two documentaries made about this hotel. The first, a radio documentary The Sunshine Hotel
This piece we find to be brilliant. The use of sound to fuel the listener’s imagination is remarkable. It is a triumph of journalistic and artistic work. The second documentary is The Sunshine Hotel a documentary film. It was inspired by David Isay’s radio documentary and has been well received. We, as of yet, have only seen excerpts of the film.

3) The Grand Hotel 143 Bowery

4) Providence Hotel 125 Bowery (founded 1895)

5) Prince Hotel 218 Bowery (soon to be luxury condos)

6) The Andrews Hotel 197 Bowery founded in 1909 Recently purchased by Common Ground to be improved for its residents.

7) The Stevenson Hotel 106 Bowery This is where George is the final occupant.

8) The Prince George 28th St. (This is also owned by Common Ground. A “modern” flophouse.)

If you know of any others, or know of anyone who may be a good potential subject for the film.
Feel free to contact us at graham@moose-productions.com.

Here’s our website: Moose Productions