What Is the Essence of a New Yorker? New Documentary Series Tells the Untold Stories of Five New Yorkers Who Represent the Heart and Soul of the City

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Are New Yorkers different? Yes, they are, according to the filmmaking team of Nick and Colin Barnicle and Matthew Davis Walker, who today released the first of a new micro-series of documentaries about the unassuming lives of unique New Yorkers who each embody the heart and soul of what it means to be a New Yorker. Entitled "A New York Story," the series consists of five short films that premiered this week on the Huffington Post and will reside on newyorkstory.tv.

The first in the series tells the tale of Paul Schweitzer, whose Flatiron District company was founded by his father in 1932. In an age of smart phones and social media, Schweitzer still goes out daily on calls to repair and restore vintage typewriters – and finds a new generation of typewriter aficionados who find typing and tweeting equally attractive. His story is told in a five-minute short film entitled Gramercy Typewriter Company.

"We are really interested in the people who make New York such a unique place," said Colin Barnicle, co-founder of Prospect Productions. "There are a thousand ways to tell the New York story, and it can be told every day. In fact, our goal was to create a 21st-century version of the metro column that used to be a staple of every major newspaper, the kind of columns in which Pete Hamill, Jimmy Breslin and Joseph Mitchell told the stories of real people."

"Many of the great urban journalists are gone or retired now, but the everyday stories they told still very much exist. This is our attempt to bring those stories to life in a new, digital era, making use of the latest in film and Web technology," added co-director Matthew Davis Walker.

Gramercy Typewriter Company is available at newyorkstory.tv and on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-barnicle/a-new-york-story-gramercy_b_1231046.html

Subsequent stories to be released in the coming weeks include:

• Polo Grounds, which tells about the impact of the 1957 departure of the New York Giants baseball team from their home in Manhattan's Polo Grounds field;
• Gleason's Gym, a classic boxer's gym that continues to flourish in Brooklyn's trendy DUMBO neighborhood;
• Putnam Ladder Company, a century-old, family business that manufactures ladders in the city's fashionable SoHo district;
• Queens County Farm, about New York City's only working farm, a 47-acre oasis in the middle of the city's largest borough.

The trailer for the complete "A New York Story" series is available online at http://vimeo.com/29783768.

"A New York Story" is the second in the Prospect Productions canon, following "Down the Line," which premiered on the MLB Network in 2011, was a Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival selection and will be available on iTunes in March 2012.

Prospect Productions co-founder Colin Barnicle, 26, is also a graduate of Georgetown University. After working for the Boston Red Sox, he interned at the Jimmy Fallon Show and later the Today Show. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.

Matthew Davis Walker, co-director of "A New York Story," is a Brooklyn-based director and producer captivated with telling memorable stories through film. While his projects range from feature films to Web videos to network programs, the profiles in the documentary series "A New York Story" shed light on unknown New Yorkers who live astonishing and unexpected lives in the world's greatest city. He is currently working on a major music documentary to premiere later this year.

Jeff Siegel, editor of "A New York Story," is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he majored in Film. He has been working with Prospect Productions since its inaugural effort and continues to provide the team with his myriad of skills. His first film, "Hooking Up," is available on iTunes. 

Prior to co-founding Prospect Productions, Nick Barnicle, 27, worked for David Milch, HBO's In Treatment and Neistat Scott and Associates. He has studied at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the Villa LeBalze in Florence, Italy. He received his B.A. degree from Georgetown University, where he played varsity baseball.

About Prospect Productions, LLC

"Good stories, told well": Brothers Nick and Colin Barnicle formed Prospect Productions to tell stories you might tell to a friend. More information about Prospect Productions can be found at www.prospectproduction.com, by calling (212) 966-0508 or by e-mailing [email protected].

SOURCE Prospect Productions