Bergen County Neighborhood Network Aims to Give Local Artists a Platform, Teach How to Create

The Bergen County Neighborhood Network is doing something no one else in the Tri-state area is doing: they are exposing residents’ talents through a live-broadcasting studio and are teaching people how to create, all while being a non-profit organization.

The BCNN, which is “Bergen County born and bred,” began in December of 2014 after a group of individuals wanted to build an app that “empowered people through their phones” to develop their own television show, BCNN Director of Operations and Teaneck resident Dusha Holmes said.

But after scaling back, the group decided that people had to be taught before they could delevop their own shows, and the BCNN was born.

Now the BCNN aims to “expose people’s talents [and] teach people how to create” by hosting events, workshops and a live broadcast show on Tuesday nights called “Mic Check 1, 2sday’s,” which gives local artists a platform.

The BCNN “tries to create an open atmosphere for anyone that needs the space or the equipment that we can provide,” said Josh Passaretti, also from Teaneck. “We have tried to create a campus atmosphere where young creatives can come and work on their craft with other creatives that can collaborate for success.”

“What’s happening here is very powerful,” Holmes said.

Saying that many talented New Jerseyans go to New York, Holmes said there’s no reason Bergen County residents should have to “cross the bridge” to showcase their talent when they can do it at BCNN’s studio in Fairview.

The BCNN is “unifying a community [and] giving people a voice” because as Holmes once told an individual, it’s not about the money, but whether you can inspire someone.

To learn more about the BCNN, click here.