Van Cortlandt Park

In 1664, Jacobus Van Cortlandt bought the North Bronx, created a park and gave it his name.



In 1973, over three-hundred years later, his park, still serene and predictable, still graced with the same ancient trees and acres of lawns, fields and bushes is now surrounded by the apartment buildings of Riverdale, Bronx, New York. Thousands now live across the street from the park, over, under and next to each other separated by some wood studs and drywall. On their side of the street, the brick and mortar side, life is far more complicated.



A mysterious 65 year-old recluse lives in a drywall build-out in a basement but often spends the night sleeping on a blue tarp in a clearing in the park's bushes when the heat in the basement is oppressive. Something in his past makes life unbearable. Several men and women, leading separate lives, facing separate crises, drawn together by fate, attempt to rebuild their future, and this man will change all of their lives forever.