Programs

Join Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher for a free screening of the acclaimed documentary film, Teenage Wasteland, a 2025 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection and New York Times Critic's Pick. The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with Director Jesse Moss and film subject Fred Isseks.

About the documentary:
Middletown, New York. 1991. Renegade English teacher Fred Isseks sends his students out on a film assignment that exposes a web of toxic dumping, political corruption, and environmental injustice hiding in plain sight. Teenage Wasteland is a coming-of-age story based on exclusive access to hundreds of hours of candid, humorous, and nostalgic footage, and the cooperation of Fred Isseks and his intrepid students as they reckon—30 years later—with a life-defining event and a remarkable story of civic courage. Their story is a testament to speaking truth to power and a reminder that the fight for environmental justice in America and across New York is far from over.