Kaufman expands, creating more jobs

Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS), the largest television facility in New York City, is adding a new studio - Stage K. City and state officials welcomed Kaufman’s expansion, saying it will create jobs and further strengthen the city’s television and film industry, which in turn will reduce New York’s economic reliance on the ailing Wall Street.
“This will help New York compete with Hollywood like never before,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the groundbreaking of Stage K on Monday, October 20.
Kaufman’s new studio will be 40,000 square feet and it will be located across the street from the existing six Kaufman structures, at 36th Street and 34th Avenue in Astoria. The stage is expected to be completed in summer 2009, according to KAS.
The project costs $22 million, $5 million of which will come from the city and $2 million from the state, Bloomberg said.
Designed to fully serve productions, the ground-level facility will feature a sound stage, a carpenter shop, a dress and prop department, and dressing rooms, among other amenities.
“The new stage is another chapter in realizing our vision for the studio as a complete complex,” said Hal Rosenbluth, KAS president.
“As Wall Street struggles with turmoil, these kinds of investments are going to be more important than ever before,” said Bloomberg, explaining that boosting the city’s film and television industry would lessen dependence on the financial services sector.
Kaufman’s expansion will create hundreds of new jobs, said Bloomberg. “Every time they make a film or commercial, it spreads the message about New York. And the money goes right into the economy, to the local people, not to the stars,” Bloomberg explained.
New York City’s film and television production industry generates $5 billion a year and supports 100,000 jobs, Bloomberg said.
To diversify the city’s economy, the Bloomberg administration decided to boost the entertainment industry, so, as part of that effort, in 2005 it introduced a 30 percent tax break to productions that shoot in the city. Recently, the state added five percent to that break.
“We’re doubling the production that’s coming to New York [since 2002],” said Pat Kaufman, executive director for motion picture and television development in the New York State Governor’s Office.
The television and film industry is expected to spend almost $2 billion in New York City in the coming months, added Kaufman.
“This powerful stand-alone economic engine bolsters other industries such as tourism, digital media, theater arts and fashion,” said Marisa Lago, CEO of Empire State Development. “The expansion of Kaufman Astoria Studios is great news for the entire state.”
Since opening its doors in 1920, Kaufman has been home to a number of famous productions such as The Cosby Show and Sesame Street. Currently, ABC’s new show “Life on Mars” and Showtime’s new show “Nurse Jackie” are being filmed at the studio.