By SARAH BELLE LIN

Isaac Espinosa is carving a niche for themself, starting in the former Lehman College student’s home borough: the Bronx. And their industry of choice is one long riddled with negative stereotypes. That’s right, video games.

But as a senior intern and mentor with the New York Videogame Critics Circle, they work closely with individuals one might not expect gamers to be involved with — young people in the borough without homes.

“We’re supposed to play with purpose,” Espinosa said. “When it comes to mentoring kids, this idea (is) we can play games without using them as a time-waster.”

Espinosa’s efforts go beyond the game controller and keyboard, however. They are part of a joint project between the mayor’s media and entertainment office and Lehman to produce videos. The first go at such a venture was a successful one, landing the team a local Emmy.

This time, however, the nets were cast much wider — all five boroughs were showcased.

Nearly a dozen Lehman faculty and students were asked to produce a series on a few ordinary — and perhaps previously overlooked — niche professions, be it a pizzeria and its brick oven-baked feasts in Staten Island. Or, in the Bronx’s case, a critics circle aiming to redefine the video game industry.

In a past life, Ron Bergmann’s work with the city’s information technology department connected him to the media and entertainment office. Now, as Lehman’s vice president and chief technology officer, that same agency arrived at the Bedford Park Boulevard campus with a pitch: A public service announcement video series highlighting five businesses and cultural institutions that not only adjusted quickly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but maybe changed their M.O. in a way that deserves recognition.

‘Shift NYC’ emerged. It included considerable talent found right on Lehman’s campus, including Brendan McGibney, the college multimedia center director who produced the local Emmy-winning “Best in the Bronx” series in 2015. Also on board were students and post-production interns Luisa Sotelo and Curtis Antwi, who split up the five boroughs between the two.

“We always tried to touch upon diversity,” Sotelo said. “That’s one of the things that makes New York City what it is.”

And what could have been darker months brought on by the pandemic turned into enriching ones for Sotelo, who said the project “was so interesting that the time flies.”

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Source: https://riverdalepress.com/stories/picture-this-bronx-as-untapped-source-for-video-games,76953?