Life on New York's Upper East Side During the Great Recession (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

In the 2009 documentary “Close to Home,” FRONTLINE examined the struggles of a small business owner in New York City’s Upper East Side as she tried to stay afloat during the Great Recession, and the financial challenges impacting her clients. (Aired 2009)

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In this documentary, writer, producer and director Ofra Bikel chronicled the Great Recession’s impact on people Bikel came to know at Deborah Hair Designs, a hair salon she had frequented in New York City’s Upper East Side neighborhood for approximately 20 years.

The salon’s owner and its hairdresser started her business in 1985. Her clients at the salon, located in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the country, included actors, athletic trainers and bankers. But for the salon’s owner, it was all on the line with the economic downturn: some clients came less often, and some skipped their appointments altogether.

The film examined the struggles of a small business owner to stay afloat, her sister’s risk of imminent foreclosure on her Florida home, and the various clients whose lives intersected at the salon — from a retired flight attendant, to a laid-off HR executive, to personal trainers, each with a story to tell about how they were getting by in turbulent times.

“Close to Home” was a FRONTLINE co-production with Ofra Bikel Productions. It was written, produced and directed by Ofra Bikel. The editor was Daisy Wright and the assistant editor was Daniel Svanberg. The senior producer of FRONTLINE was Raney Aronson-Rath. The executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.

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FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and airs nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

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