Part Of Kaufman Studios’ Expansion Plan
Sen. Charles E. Schumer announced last Wednesday, May 9, that the National Park Service (NPS) has given final approval to Kaufman Astoria Studio’s designs and plans to open a new outdoor movie studio lot next to their soundstages in Astoria.
Schumer previously called on the National Park Service to immediately give final sign-off on a plan, which had received prior approval during the community planning process, to move forward with construction the studio. Delays in the approval process could have resulted in Kaufman Studio’s missing the lucrative summer 2013 filming season and added additional cost to the project.
The NPS informed the senator’s office last Wednesday that they have approved the new design of the studio lot on 36th Street between 34th and 35th avenues.
“We can finally say ‘action,'” said Schumer. “With National Park’s sign off the project can move forward, on schedule, and begin competing for major productions with places like Los Angeles and Toronto. I want to thank the National Parks Service for responding to our concerns so promptly and for understanding that the only thing that needed to be cut from this production was the red tape.”
Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS) is expanding its operation by building New York’s first-ever outdoor studio lot that will allow production companies to film exterior and special effects shots and attract new film and TV clients to NYC that otherwise would have to choose Los Angeles and other cities.
The NPS, which deeded the land to New York City for the purposes of building this studio, had previously signed off on the deal, but was requiring an additional layer of review in order to approve slight design changes for the outdoor lot.
In a previous trip to the studio, Schumer pointed out that the NPS was asking for this additional review despite the fact that the land-which was already deeded to the city exclusively for film production-was being used for that purpose. The senator raised concerns that a second review by the NPS of the design would have pushed the $2 million project three to four months behind schedule and would threaten the studio’s ability to host major productions by the summer of 2013.
Kaufman Astoria Studios is expanding in its current location by building New York City’s first-ever outdoor movie studio lot. Kaufman plans to enclose 36th Street between 34th and 35th Avenues and build an entry gate, at 36th Street on 35th Avenue- creating a studio campus that could become an iconic NYC destination, Schumer stated.
The studio will allow productions to shoot exterior and special effects shots within the Kaufman Studios campus, directly and conveniently adjacent to the interior sound stages, making NYC a destination for film and television clients who otherwise would have chosen Los Angeles, Toronto or New Orleans.
Kaufman had already received approval for the project, including enclosing 36th street, through the rigorous Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP)-a local process that included approval from the NPS, Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and review of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The project required NPS approval because the site is on National Park Service land.
In the 1970s, the National Park Service deeded the land to New York City with the stipulation that the historic site, originally a silent film mecca in the 1920s, continue to be used for film purposes. According to the terms of the deed, the agency must sign-off to ensure the land is being used for the purposes it was transferred.
The NPS, through the ULURP process, had already done that, but because the New York City’s Public Design Commission (PDC) subsequently requested that the project make slight design changes to add a more “gritty, industrial feel,” the National Park Service informed the studio that they would again have to review the entire project, which would have resulted in project delays and increased costs.
