theafrikanpoetrytheatre.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been bouncing around from place to place since the fire, so it\u2019s nice to have something that is ours,\u201d Branch told the Chronicle. \u201cIt is definitely a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Branch, who said that free film classes were hosted over the weekend, said that he has been getting a great response from the community about the annex.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a void,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are things for the youth to do, extracurricular activities, people have been stopping by \u2014 we are just glad to be back in the community hands-on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Branch said that since the fire, the cultural center has continued its virtual programming, which grew as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were already virtual because of the fire … with new technology and media a lot of these programs are going to be streamed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
People may attend the hybrid programs via Zoom or watch them later on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people who are watching from different countries and states,\u201d Branch said.<\/p>\n
The founder said people from states such as Florida and North Carolina, as well as countries like Japan, Uganda, Tanzania and the Netherlands have attended the programs via Zoom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were already intending to expand,\u201d before the fire, said Branch about the hybrid programs. \u201cThat\u2019s why we didn\u2019t stop after Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about how many artist units will be at the old site once it\u2019s rebuilt, Branch said despite the APT\u2019s getting a grant to erect a new building, the pandemic put a halt on that.<\/p>\n
Branch said he joined the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan Committee.<\/p>\n
The Jamaica plan is an initiative to allow for nearly 12,000 new housing units in the downtown area and nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
While some have pushed back against the plan, Branch said it inspired him to fight for artist housing as he works to get more grants to rebuild the cultural center with the living units in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have new plans, there is new zoning and there are different things going on in Jamaica,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to plan it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once more funding is secured, Branch hopes to work with contractors on the design phase. In the meantime, he is looking forward to celebrating the cultural center\u2019s 50th anniversary during Kwanzaa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year we are going to do [programming] for seven days and the last day will be a big celebration,\u201d said Branch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Afrikan Poetry Theatre has a temporary new home after the second floor of its cultural center in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4982,38827,2907,7379,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-223789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-arts","tag-cultural-center","tag-housing","tag-jamaica","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}