This letter is not a complaint but rather seeks compromise and to alert your paper (the amazing WestView News!) that there is an issue at hand that needs to be investigated.
I am a native New Yorker. When opposition erupts is when I see the true essence of New Yorkers come to light—they really are about diversity and how we can all live together.
When it comes to film production in the City, the Mayor’s office operates and designates what, when and how it wants to approve permits. There are absolutely NO guidelines on how permits for production are approved and the impact in a zoned neighborhood. Communication with the community is non-existent until someone raises their voice. All decisions are made solely by the Mayor’s office.
Calling Patrice at Corey Johnson’s office and letting them know there are movies is not a way for the Mayor’s office to be speaking to the community. There should be a quota of movies that happen in any given neighborhood. There has to be responsible designation when a neighborhood is deemed a hot zone (ie, suspending permit issuances) and when it gets removed. In the last five days alone there have been and will be six-plus movies occurring—some consecutively—and they will take over street parking on over 20 blocks.
Yes, production does bring revenue for the City but can that actually be traced? I often see OUT OF STATE plates of workers/crews that come to the City. (By the way, they often use their own cars and park in designated production spots for their own personal use.) Can we call it revenue for the City when a production company has to pay taxes on payroll in other states? What if the company operating in NYC is from out of state? Do their corporate taxes flow into the City? What is revenue when the City operates their budget in a NEGATIVE flow, almost forced to seek continuous cash flow and revenue?
As mentioned, this is not a complaint but a story for New York City, New Yorkers and WestView. It is about finding a way for the community and the Mayor’s office to agree and work together, and stand by a set of guidelines not just by happenstance and one-sided fly by the seat of your pants decision-making.
—Jonathan
