By Mark Hallum
The long running NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was on set in Bayside last week and Raymond O’Connor Park was lined with trailers and 18-wheelers for the filming of episode 11 of the 18th season.
Signs went up in the neighborhood days before the shooting took place asking residents to move their cars prior to when filming was scheduled to start Nov. 17. Filming for the show took place in a house north of 32nd Avenue on 210th Street, according to a crew member.
Starring Mariska Hargitay, Ice T, Kelli Giddish, Peter Scanavino, and Paul Esparza, the detective show is the longest running television series on prime time. The lives and struggles of detectives in NYPD’s Special Victims Unit, an elite squad who track down perpetrators of sexual crimes, are the primary narrative of the show.
The show centers around Detective Olivia Benson (Hargitay), a grizzled veteran of the police squad who leads a team of investigators while dealing with her own history as a victim of rape and as mother to a young girl. These aspects factor into what makes Benson a dynamic character and investigator.
Hargitay won the 2006 Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series and has received eight Emmy nominations in that category.
Detective Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice T) is the comedic relief as well as voice of experience in the law enforcement squad.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
