Let's thank film studios for gentrifying Astoria & LIC

From Crains:

"Studio pioneers, like Silvercup and Kaufman Astoria, clearly provided the impetus to make this area the hub of New York productions," said Matt Dienstag, co-owner of LeNoble. "It's the New York production version of Field of Dreams: They built it and we came."

Today, spurred by a boom in film and TV production, Kaufman Astoria and Silvercup studios have upped their investments in once-forlorn areas of western Queens that have helped attract small businesses, restaurants and arts groups making the neighborhoods more attractive residential destinations. Their influence, combined with the city's rezoning efforts, are causing the communities to be transformed by an influx of young couples and families.

"This neighborhood used to be full of vandalized buildings," said Hal Rosenbluth, president of Kaufman Astoria. "Our goal wasn't just to build a movie studio. It was to revitalize a neighborhood using the studio as a base."

In early February the first Queens branch of the popular Australian café Toby's Estate Coffee opened on Jackson Avenue, a few blocks from Silvercup. And Eleni Goros opened a café called Sweet Scene near Kaufman Astoria in August.

"The studio being here is obviously a huge plus," she said. "There has been a much younger crowd moving into the neighborhood and young families as well."

Those families have been attracted to the area by a seismic change in the residential market that also has benefited the studios. Over the past decade rising real estate prices in Manhattan and Brooklyn have funneled renters, buyers and developers to Long Island City, part of which was rezoned in 2001 to allow for massive apartment towers that could be built more cheaply there than elsewhere.

And built they were. Since 2007 around 11,000 units have been constructed, and 24,000 more are on the way. Astoria's relative cheapness and proximity to Midtown also has made it attractive to residents priced out of other neighborhoods.

Because of all the activity, real estate prices are skyrocketing. The average price per square foot of residential space in the part of Astoria around Kaufman has jumped roughly 35% to $1,050 in the past two years, according to Eric Benaim, chief executive of Modern Spaces, a real estate brokerage and marketer specializing in Long Island City and Astoria. In the Court Square area near Silvercup, the average rent has increased to around $1,300 per square foot from about $1,000 two years ago.

Kaufman-Astoria continues path of destruction

Here's a shot of 34-36 and 34-40 35th Street on a nice sunny day last spring.

And here's the shot taken this past week. You'll note the X's painted on the homes, indicating that they're vacant. Why? Because an outfit called "Astoria Gardens LLC" applied for demo permits last October for both of them. What is Astoria Gardens LLC? Well, the address on the DOB filings is 34-12 36TH STREET, that of Kaufman-Astoria Studios.

As the Kaufman Astoria parking lot is next door, I think we know what to expect to see here in the future.

Pols celebrate closing of a street

From The Sunnyside Post:

Movie makers can now film on the streets of New York — without taking away coveted parking spaces.

On Tuesday, elected officials cut the ribbon on a new outdoor lot at Kaufman Astoria Studios — which will allow producers to shoot outdoor scenes in the convenience of a studio setting. The studio setting is viewed as less costly for producers — since old cars and other props don’t have to be moved — and it helps avoid problems such as inclement weather.

The outdoor lot, the first of its kind in New York, will also reduce the need for filmmakers to use local streets — thereby avoiding upset city residents peeved by lost parking spaces or over-the-top fans.

Officials say the outdoor studio lot will help make New York more competitive with Hollywood and will help draw the big production companies to the area. Outdoor lots are commonplace in Tinseltown.

“This is a gamechanger,” said New York Senator Charles Schumer. “We are telling Hollywood we can compete. Hollywood watch out.”

The outdoor lot is a 34,800 square foot space located on 36th Street – between 34th and 35th Avenues–in Astoria. The street was demapped by the city in 2011 and construction of the outdoor lot began this year.

Ah, the holy film industry in NYC:

First they get lucrative tax breaks.
Then they get free reign on our streets.
They claim that filming helps "local businesses" but most businesses lose money when streets are closed for filming.
Then we hand over a public street to them for nothing.
There isn't a welfare queen in the City that has made more $ than the film industry.
Maybe we'll sell the rest of Flushing Meadows to them next.

Kaufman-Astoria to take over 36th Street

From the NY Times:

Dust off the Duesenberg. New York is getting two new studio gates.

The gates will close off a one-block stretch of 36th Street in Astoria, Queens, allowing Kaufman Astoria Studios to consolidate its complex on either side of the street. This will allow the studio to create — in the former roadway itself — a 34,800-square-foot back lot, almost exactly where many outdoor scenes were filmed in the 1920s and ’30s for movies that are themselves long forgotten.

“When you think of going to a studio, you expect to pull up to a gate,” said Hal G. Rosenbluth, the president of Kaufman Astoria. “This will become an iconic symbol for the area.”

The historical heart of Kaufman Astoria complex is an enormous studio building on 35th Avenue that was opened in 1920 by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the predecessor to Paramount Pictures. Directly behind this building was a back lot, now occupied by soundstages and offices, that was used for dozens of movies produced or distributed by Paramount until 1939.

The new back lot will be 60 feet wide and 580 feet long, running from 35th Avenue to 34th Avenue. Studio executives and city officials envision it as an alternative to some of the location filming that snarls neighborhoods and tests New Yorkers’ patience. It would offer filmmakers a controlled outdoor environment on which temporary sets could be constructed, stunts and car chases could be staged and large-scale equipment could be used.

Kaufman Astoria rents its studios to producers. (All Saints Hospital from “Nurse Jackie” occupies Stage G, for example, while “Sesame Street” can be found on Stage J.) It has not been affiliated with Paramount Pictures for many decades. It will lease this one block of 36th Street from New York City and effectively control it until 2049.

As a technical matter, the 36th Street segment has been closed — or “de-mapped” — since June 2012. In 2015, Kaufman Astoria will begin paying rent; it will start at $140,000 annually and escalate every five years. It has already begun making payments to the city in lieu of real estate taxes. These began at $33,137 annually and will increase every year.

NPS approves outdoor studio

From the NY Post:

The National Parks Service yesterday approved construction plans for the city’s first outdoor movie lot at Astoria-Kaufman Studios in Queens.

Federal red tape threatened to delay the $2 million project that is expected to open by the summer of 2013 and will help attract even more film projects to the city.

“We finally say ‘Action!’ ” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who had urged the agency to act.

“With the National Parks Service sign-off, the project can move forward on schedule and begin competing for major productions with places like Los Angeles and Toronto.”

The studio, which was turned over to the city decades ago, is also a national historic site.

Schumer shills for Kaufman-Astoria

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is asking the feds to make it easier for New York City to build a movie studio that would rival Hollywood.

The federal government is holding up the final approval for Kaufman Astoria Studios to build an architecturally flashy movie lot gate — a la Hollywood — at 36th Street and 35th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. It would transform one block of the street into New York’s only modern-day outdoor movie studio.

“One thing that California has over us is that it has an outdoor movie studio,” Schumer told WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb. “We don’t have any outdoor movie studios in New York City.”

The outdoor studio could accommodate rain machines, snow machines and sets, and Schumer said that the outdoor studio could serve as a catalyst which could transform New York’s film and TV industry for decades.

Why does this have to be done on public property? Doesn't the studio have enough money - and property - at this point to build an outdoor studio without gobbling up city streets?

CB2 suggests limiting film permits

From Crain's:

In the current television season, New York is serving as home base for 23 prime-time series. Not only that, but 188 full-length feature movies were shot here in 2011. Thrilled city officials would like to see more, pointing out that such productions pump nearly $5 billion into the city's economy each year and support roughly 100,000 jobs.

In Long Island City, Queens, though, many people have a decidedly different take on all this. There, in the epicenter of much of the action, many residents are saying enough already, and some are even begging the city to yell, “Cut.”

In addition to noise and light pollution, Long Island City residents complain about the loss of big blocks of parking spaces, a situation made worse, they say, by production crews illegally parking personal cars in spaces reserved for production trucks.

"It's just not fair because businesses are temporarily being shut down to accommodate filming," said Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2 in Queens, which represents Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and a portion of Maspeth. Contrary to what City Hall says, Mr. Conley sees little evidence of an upside.

“Production crews don't localize, so there's no benefit to the community,” he said, pointing out that when it comes to meals, for example, the crews bring in their own outside catering companies.

With complaints from residents and businesses rising, Mr. Conley is asking the Bloomberg administration to work together with production companies to make filming less disruptive for the community. He and others suggest setting a limit on the number of productions in a given period.

Mr. Greenberg sees another way for Hollywood to endear itself to Long Island City residents. He suggests that production companies could score major points by helping out with local projects like street repairs or park cleaning.

Street closure debate not over

From Queens Courier:

Queens Community Board 1 recently passed Kaufman Astoria Studios’ (KAS) plan to de-map 36th Street from 34th to 35th Avenues and build the movie set by a two-thirds vote. But, a few local businesspeople like Vishnu Ramjoo, an associate at Bravo Supermarket located across the street from the studio, expressed concern.

“We don’t have a parking lot available to our customers, and our business is generated by the input of the community,” he said, adding, “The proposal may gain negative feedback from locals.”

Meanwhile, a city Economic Development Corporation (EDC) spokesperson said “we have confidence in the Department of Transportation’s assessment that the surrounding streets will be able to handle the traffic and parking.”

In addition, the EDC said that “an enclosed studio with a back lot will attract more productions to New York, especially with the recent extension of the film production tax credit. A major production could mean between 200 and 400 jobs, not to mention the ancillary economic impact that local business will enjoy.”

Michael Condoleon, a senior at Frank Sinatra High School, said he didn’t think the expansion would have a negative effect on him or his fellow classmates.

“It would also open up more jobs for people, and help local businesses, so maybe it will benefit the community,” he said.

Vicky's paper asked a high school kid what he thinks but not the local elected officials? Why are they getting a pass? And yeah, EDC assures us that traffic will not be a problem and closing the street will create jobs, jobs, jobs. Same old song and dance.

Part of Astoria's 36th street to be demapped

From the Daily News:

The Astoria studio that is home to "Sesame Street" has cleared its first hurdle in its plan to turn a city block into an outdoor movie set.

Queens Community Board 1 approved on Tuesday a proposal by Kaufman Astoria Studios to de-map 36th St., from 34th Ave. to 35th Ave., and then lease the space from the city. The block sits beside the Kaufman complex.

But not everyone was pleased with the board's decision. Some locals said the closure would increase traffic congestion and vowed to oppose the plan.

"We're going to take the fight to the borough president's office," said Brian Beard, president of the Long Island City Alliance, a community group.

Beard said traffic problems will get worse, especially from Northern Blvd. to the Queensboro Bridge. It could also make dropping off kids at nearby schools difficult, he said.

Astoria resident Ron Vega, 52, said he also opposes the plan, noting there are already problems when the studio temporarily closes streets for filming. A permanent closure will make the situation even worse, he said.

"When I tell you from my heart that this is a bad idea, I hope you take it into consideration," Vega implored the board.

Studio President Hal Rosenbluth said the street closure will actually be good for the area and noted that emergency vehicles will be allowed to drive through the block.

Having an outdoor set, similar to ones in Los Angeles, will make the studio more competitive and able to land additional major productions, Rosenbluth said. And those films, TV shows and commercials can translate into local jobs and increased business for area merchants.

"It sustains the economic growth we've created," he said. "The neighborhood is going to be very happy in the end."

The proposal would allow the studio to lease the block from the city through 2049, said city Economic Development Corp. spokeswoman Julie Wood.

I thought they were leaving because the tax credits ran out.

Work drying up for film industry

From the Daily News:

Since a successful state tax break for film and TV productions ran out of money on Feb. 2, the heads of two major studios in Queens said scheduling for pilots has come to a grinding halt.

"Once the word started to leak out that it was running out of funds, that was it. Boom - it just stopped," said Kaufman Astoria Studios President Hal Rosenbluth.

Rosenbluth said he hasn't gotten a single call to book a pilot since the $460 million the state allocated for the program through 2013 was tapped out.

Silvercup Studios in Long Island City has no pilots right now, said President Stuart Suna. Last year, it was home to four of the eight pilots filmed in the city for the 2008-2009 season.

Those are troubling signs, since pilots are usually booked in January and February and shot in the spring in time for prime-time premieres in September.