Bloomy Praises Studios 20 Years

  Cast between two beautiful starlets, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was all but ready for his close-up at the Silvercup Studios last Thursday.
Joining Silvercup owners Alan and Stuart Suna and the cast of the ABC sitcom "Hope & Faith" on their set, hizzoner celebrated the studios two decades of making movies and television shows and its contribution to bringing the film industry to New York.
"Im pleased to wish Silvercup Studios a happy 20th anniversary, and delighted that this great studio one of the pioneers in reviving the industry in New York City keeps growing," said Bloomberg, flanked by blondies Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford, the title actresses in "Hope & Faith."
Bloomberg lauded Silvercup and its latest series for bringing economic activity and employment to New York and Queens.
"ABC/Touchstones investment in New York City supports this great facility with the addition of Hope & Faith, bringing more jobs for New Yorkers and additional revenues to the city," he said.
Silvercup, formerly a bakery, was converted in 1980 to a film and television production facility. The first production was a Cool Whip commercial in 1983. Silvercup eventually grew into a 400,000-square-feet operation with 18 studios, on-site production offices and extensive set, prop and wardrobe storage areas. Hundreds of commercials and scores of productions such as music videos, movies and television series are shot every year on its sets.
The studios most famous productions are the HBO comedy series "Sex and the City," which follows four 30-something women through their maneuverings of relationships and careers, and the HBO drama "The Sopranos," about a therapy-seeking mobster patriarch, starring actor James Gandolfini. Two films currently being shot at the studios are "Stay" with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts and "Hide & Seek" starring Robert DeNiro.
The Suna brothers have plans to add another 300,000 square feet of production space on a 6.5-acre site that they own just south of the Queensborough Bridge.
"We are committed to expansion and growth in New York City," said Stuart Match Suna, president of Silvercup. "Film, television and commercial production have a ripple effect on the economy. The business community around us continues to grow as we grow."
Looking forward, the studio heads predict a future just as bright as the stars that grace their lots.
"The first twenty years have only set the stage for the next two decades," said Stuart Suna.