Soundstage Options Expand for New York-Based Productions

Having trouble finding a reliable, controlled environment in New York City in which to shoot? If so, you have a great new option available. Earlier this week, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Media and Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver joined with Steiner Studios chairman Douglas C. Steiner to open five large soundstages at Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, already home to the award-winning HBO show “Boardwalk Empire.”

Coupled with the five already-existing stages, which have been home to such productions as The Adjustment Bureau, Inside Man, Enchanted and Spider-Man 3 in addition to TV shows like “Damages” and “Bored to Death” and major events like the Independent Filmmaker Project’s Gotham Awards, Steiner Studios now totals 335,000 square feet of space, which includes editing suites, mill shops and prop storage.

In addition to the city’s partnership with Steiner Studios, first opened in 2004, Mayor Bloomberg has announced the launching of even more initiatives designed to support the continued growth of the film industry in the Big Apple, including new grants for training programs to prepare New Yorkers for careers in production and digital fields; the creation of an entertainment component to the city’s mini-MBA partnership with NYU’s Stern School of Business; and a request for proposals for a “Made in NY” media center, which would provide media companies with affordable work space and other services.

“A little over a decade ago, New York City struggled to attract the lucrative production industry to film here,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Now the City is such a popular and prosperous home to hundreds of films and television shows, we have to work hard to keep up with the demand for stages and production facilities. These new soundstages at Steiner Studios will create jobs and expand our workforce development programs with new grants that will help the next generation of production professionals start their careers on the right track.”

“More production in the City translates directly to more New Yorkers working at well-paid jobs behind the scenes and more money spent in the local economy,” added Commissioner Oliver. “Doug Steiner and his team understand that, and they’ve been committed to expanding Steiner Studios into what it is today—a hallmark of the City’s production industry.”

Information on Steiner Studios can be found at www.steinerstudios.com. For more on everything you need to know about shooting in the Big Apple, head to The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.