Another Movie/TV Production Facility Coming To Brooklyn, This One With The Promise Of Jobs And Inclusivity
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Another giant film and production hub is coming to Brooklyn.
And with it comes the promise of thousands of jobs and more inclusion in the industry, CBS2's Alice Gainer reported Thursday.
Steiner Studios just got the nod to open a second film and television production facility, this one in Sunset Park.
The 500,000 square-foot space will be located at the Made in NY campus at Bush Terminal, which is already under construction for garment manufacturing.
"We have eight sound stages of about 16,000 feet each. There are two buildings of 140,000 feet that will be gut renovated. They're historic structures," Steiner Studios chairman Doug Steiner said. "Parking structure, 500 spaces."
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Steiner spoke to CBS2 at the company's Brooklyn Navy Yard location, where movies and TV shows are filmed.
"When we started this project in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1999, all I heard was no one will ever go to Brooklyn. That's been turned on its head, thank God," Steiner said.
The New York City Economic Development Corporation and the city's Office of Media and Entertainment said this will create thousands of jobs.
"Eighteen hundred construction jobs, 2,200 full-time, permanent jobs," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
And the hiring process has an emphasis on diversity. The goal for the construction jobs is 25% minority- and women-owned businesses.
"It also creates opportunities for apprenticeships for local people in the neighborhood of access to jobs, both in this studio and the industry across New York City," said James Patchett, president of the Economic Development Corporation.
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There's also a commitment to the community in terms of green space, fixing up the adjacent Bush Terminal park with $25,000 annually going towards recreational programming.
"Add parking, a playground, and a good pathway for bikes and pedestrians and some other stuff," Steiner said.
So who is footing the bill?
There's $320 million in private investment. The city will contribute $15 million toward site preparation work. The hope is that Brooklyn becomes the new and more inclusive Hollywood.
Ground is expected to be broken in about 18 months.
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