Tax credits a boom to Queens

BY JESSICA LYONS

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 6:57 PM EDT

The two studios in Queens, Kaufman Astoria and Silvercup, are just as busy as ever as things have gotten back to normal following the writers’ strike and as more productions are taking advantage of tax credits being offered by the city and state.

During the writers’ strike that ended in February of 2008, Kaufman Astoria President Hal G. Rosenbluth said that the studio stayed busy regardless with the filming of movies such as “The Taking of Pelham 123” and “Doubt” and the game show “Password.” However, once the strike ended, a Woody Allen movie, the ABC show “Life on Mars” and an HBO pilot also came to the studio.

Alan Suna, the CEO of Silvercup, said that the writers’ strike affected everybody. He also said that now the studio is even busier than it was before the strike.

Another reason why filming has picked up in New York can be attributed to the city and state’s tax credit, which was recently revised this year. The tax credits now total 35 percent. “Ugly Betty” is one of the shows taking advantage of the incentives.

“We anticipated that the tripling of New York’s incentives would lure productions to New York but even we didn’t expect to see such immediate results,” Empire State Development Corporation Downstate President Avi Schick said in May when the show announced its relocation. “With ‘Ugly Betty’ coming home to New York, we are already seeing the promotion of an industry that creates billions of dollars in economic activity in New York each year. We expect many more production to follow their lead and decide that New York is the best place for film and television.”

Rosenbluth estimated that about 50 percent of the work currently in New York is here because of the tax credits. He said that television shows are already coming to the city and predicts that near the end of this year more feature films will also come.

“New York would not be as busy as it is by a wide margin if not for the tax credits,” Suna said, adding that he thinks the filming will only increase. “They work.”

THE COURIER/PHOTO BY JESSICA LYONS
Silvercup Studios CEO Alan Suna said that, like “Ugly Betty,” many other shows are taking advantage of tax incentives.