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'YouTube' Studio to Open in The Bronx in September

By Eddie Small | July 22, 2015 4:26pm
 A studio where people can make quality videos for YouTube should arrive at 370 East 149th St. by September.
A studio where people can make quality videos for YouTube should arrive at 370 East 149th St. by September.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

MOTT HAVEN — The next viral video star could come from The Bronx.

Jacob Morris, director of the Harlem Historical Society, is working to set up a studio in the heart of The Hub on the third floor at 370 East 149th St. that would provide anyone interested with the tools to make high-quality videos for YouTube.

While the studio is not directly affiliated with the popular video site, the site, which is expected to open in September, will contain professional video and audio recording equipment and a professional video-editing suite, Morris said.

He would also like to set up internship and workforce development programs at the studio as well.

YouTube recently opened up an official video production facility in Chelsea Market.

Morris emphasized that his space in The Bronx would be much more low key than the official studio, however, he hopes the company will eventually come to see the studio as a place to develop top talent for the Internet.

“I call that like the New York Yankees, you know what I’m saying?” he said, referring to YouTube's Manhattan studio. “So we’ll be like the farm team. We’ll be like Scranton, Pennsylvania.”

Peter Kostmayer, CEO of the Citizens Committee for New York City, which is funding The Bronx studio through a teaching grant, said he viewed the studio and was particularly excited about the project's ability to give young African-American men the opportunity to create videos about their cultural and intellectual history.

"They're going to feel some pride in themselves, in their history," he said. "They hear so much of the opposite that we want them to hear all the great stuff."

Morris said he would also look to have the studio create partnerships with youth programs like the Police Athletic League and community boards, which he thinks should each have their own YouTube channel.

"It would bring basic civic involvement more into the light," he said. "It would make it a lot more accessible to a lot more people."

He stressed that the studio would be very open-minded about scheduling appointments for community members who would like to use it and would have few limitations on the types of videos that could be filmed there.

"As long as their thing is not libelous or pornographic, it’s a go," he said.

The studio will initially focus on serving people from Upper Manhattan and The Bronx, and Morris predicted that it would prove to be a very popular amenity.

"It will be a great resource for the community," he said. "I expect fairly soon after we launch we’re going to wind up being fairly booked. We’ll have a waiting list."