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Watch movies for free every Wednesday at Jackson Heights’ Diversity Plaza

DIVERSITY PLAZA
Photo courtesy of Facebook/Friends of Diversity Plaza

A Jackson Heights resident, authority on food and culture in Queens and a purveyor of “You park like an asshole” stickers, Jeff Orlick will start showing films at Diversity Plaza every Wednesday.

Located at 73rd Street and 37th Road, the plaza is home to other events such as the Momo Crawl, a food event hosted by Jeff Orlick to promote the neighborhood’s Himalayan cuisine. It was also used as a gathering place to mourn the victims in the Paris terrorist attacks earlier last year.

Orlick said he wanted to use the space to create something for the eclectic mix of people who frequent Diversity Plaza and live in the neighborhood.

“I love the challenge of creating something that will appeal to people from many cultures,” he said. “Also the challenge of doing an event for people who are not connected to the same social networks as I am.”

He aims to showcase movies that “transcend dialogue” and that do not depend on the spoken word. Orlick said he plans on showing movies featuring Buster Keaton, an actor and director best known for his silent films featuring physical comedy, and musicals like Fantasia.

He will kick-off Movies in the Plaza tonight at 8 p.m. with showings of the 1921 Buster Keaton film “The Boat” and “Metropolis,” a science fiction silent film from the 1920s.

“This series is also part of my own education of film, so they are movies that I want to see ― that is why I appreciate if people just come with a blanket and chill out on the plaza because I want to watch the movies, too,” Orlick said.

Orlick has set up a Facebook event page and will update it every week with the new movies.