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Bronx Had Biggest Jump in Number of Film Permits Compared to Rest of City

By Eddie Small | April 29, 2016 1:47pm
 The new ABC series
The new ABC series "The Family" filmed on City Island multiple times last year, according to Vacca's office.
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Barbara Dolensek

THE BRONX — The number of film permits issued in The Bronx rose by almost 100 between 2014 and 2015 — a sharper increase than any other borough in the city, according to data from the city and Bronx Councilman James Vacca.

Shows including ABC's "The Family" and NBC's "Shades of Blue" all scheduled shoots in The Bronx last year, according to Vacca's office, in what the councilman hopes is indicative of a growing trend.

“I was originally told that many of the producers like the brownstone look. That’s why they were going to Manhattan and Brooklyn so often,” said Vacca, who chairs the City Council's Committee on Technology, “but I think The Bronx now has a future potential that’s now being looked at very seriously.”

Barbara Dolensek, owner of the house at 21 Tier St. on City Island, said that her home has been the site of several film projects ranging from the 1962 film "Long Day's Journey Into Night" to the 2001 film "The Royal Tenenbaums."

However, she had a particularly high amount of location scouts approach her this past year and said "The Family" ended up filming at her house about 12 times.

Dolensek said she doesn't know exactly why interest in filming at City Island spiked recently but attributed it in part to a broader interest in filming throughout New York.

"I know the amount of shooting that’s been going on and filming in the city has increased a lot," she said, "and I assumed that was part of it."

Vacca suggested that The Bronx had started becoming more popular as a film destination because it was a less stressful place for crews and actors to work than Manhattan.

“Not going to Manhattan and confronting the traffic and street closure issues but coming to The Bronx is friendlier for them,” he said.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. attributed the increase to a feeling of “genuine New York City authenticity” in The Bronx that can be hard to find elsewhere.

“I’m excited that film permits have risen in The Bronx,” he said in a statement, “and I expect for more permits to be approved as York Studios and Silvercup Studios continue to plant roots in our great borough.”

Although The Bronx saw a much larger increase in film permits than the city's other boroughs by percentage, jumping from 185 permits in 2014 to 277 in 2015, it still lagged extremely far behind Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens in terms of raw numbers.

Queens had about 1,500 film permits last year, while Brooklyn had about 2,700 and Manhattan had about 4,400, according to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.

Vacca said he would continue to stress that The Bronx is open for business when it comes to filming to help the borough reap the economic benefits that come with it and get more competitive with other parts of the city.

“Manhattan traditionally has been where so many films have been shot,” he said, “but we’re a city of five boroughs, and I want the city to stress that to the film industry.”