New London Tube: Riverside Celebration

The question of whether to sell about half of to the went through a pretty hectic set of twists and turns. First it , then Mayor-elect Daryl Finizio said the , then a recount . If you're not savvy with the whole story, those links should help you out.

When the issue finally came to a close, opponents of the park celebrated the narrow defeat of the referendum question with a cookout at the park's amphitheatre. Michael Passero, who opposed the sale and was with the largest number of votes, was there with his camera to capture the scene. It starts right away with an amusing exchange between Passero, John Maynard (newly elected to the City Council) and "Eighth Councilor" Evelyn Louziotis.

From there, Passero takes a stroll around the crowd, getting a few grins or direct comments on the filming but mostly just acting as an observer to the scene around him. There's almost a feel of eavesdropping about it as a few disjointed strands of conversation become apparent: "We saw it, but most people didn't..." "But the column in today's paper makes him look like an idiot..." "I had my Betty Crocker cookbook. I made my own raisin and apple stuffing..."

I have to say, the camerawork on this is impressive. Passero keeps a pretty steady view on things even while wandering around. We know he's already a lawyer and firefighter and cameraman, but if he might well be able to throw "filmmaker" on top of that stack of hats.