Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival

An urban renewal project in the heart of Queens threatens to destroy the gritty industrial landscape that serves as the backdrop for the film Chop Shop, a favourite at this year’s Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival.

The city intends to turn Willets Point, commonly known as the ‘Iron Triangle’, into a complex of office spaces, apartments and a convention center. Currently, the area is home to a number of small businesses, including many auto body or ‘chop shops.’

The film’s young star, Alejandro Polanco, 14, has been advocating for keeping the industrial site saying, “I never saw an area like that.” The New York Daily News has more on the redevelopment plans.