By James DeWeese
Speaking at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Bloomberg, company executives and homegrown “Jonny Zero” star Franky G. announced that in addition to the Fox drama, five new television pilots and an independent film are underway inside the studios at the foot of the Queensborough Bridge because of a series of recently rolled out tax credits and financial incentives.”Jonny Zero” was the first show to take full advantage of the Empire State Film Production Credit Program and the Bloomberg administration's Made in New York Incentive Program, the officials said, pointing out that production was relocated from Toronto after the tax credits and incentives became law.”The tax incentive has allowed us to make the city into a real character in Jonny Zero,” said Flushing native Franky G. as he stood on the former “Sex and the City” stage that now features his show's boxing ring. The cast and crew, comprised of more than 120 New Yorkers, have appeared at sites across Queens and the five boroughs to film scenes for the hourlong ex-con drama that airs Fridays on Fox at 9 p.m. The show has created more than 100 new jobs, said Silvercup President Stuart Suna. Bloomberg said the five new pilots and independent movie slated for Silvercup will add $15 million to the local economy.”It is great to have these pilots being filmed here, but oddly enough I wasn't asked to appear in any of them,” the mayor said with a wry smile. “They are just great for New York City and another sign that the film and television industry in this city is booming.”The pilots scheduled to be filmed on some of Silvercup Studios' 18-sound stages are: “The Bedford Diaries, “Lennie and Rose,” “NY-70,” “The Prince,” and “Pros & Cons.””The productions that are all here were planning on going to Canada,” said Suna, who credited the incentive programs with creating jobs and helping to keep them in the city. Silvercup is working on expansion plans, Bloomberg said. Nearby Kaufman-Astoria Studios is a complete broadcast and production facility. The state incentive program, signed into law in September, grants a 10 percent tax credit to films and television series that shoot 75 percent of their projects on New York stages. The city's program, which was enacted Jan. 3, offers qualifying producers an additional 5 percent tax credit and free advertising on city-owned bus shelters, on NYC-TV and radio in exchange for a small contribution to local non-profits in the performing arts field.City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside), whose district encompasses Silvercup, was one of the local elected officials including Councilman David Weprin, (D-Hollis) state Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and Borough President Helen Marshall who helped shape the incentive programs.”These incentives scream, 'Action!' and send a clear signal to film and television makers across the world that New York is open and ready for business,” Gioia said.
