Lights, camera, more action at city studios

“The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City” were once the lifeblood of Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, where the HBO mega-hits were filmed.

Silvercup CEO Alan Suna remembers how some industry insiders predicted dark days for the studio once Carrie Bradshaw and the girls and Tony Soprano and his murderous minions left the stage.

“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, my goodness! What is going to happen to you guys?'” Suna recalled.

But doomsday never came. Quite the opposite, in fact.

As New York City, and the country as a whole, reels over the deepening recession, Silvercup and the other major studio in Queens, Kaufman Astoria Studios, have become catalysts for the local economy.

Silvercup’s revenues jumped 17% last year compared to 2007, the year the “The Sopranos” concluded production. The curtain came down on “Sex” in 2004.

“The amount of business we are doing now is far greater than we ever did when those shows were here,” said Suna, whose studio hosts production for five hit shows, including “Gossip Girl” and “30 Rock.”

The good times at Silvercup reflect the recent success the film and television industry has enjoyed in the city, where 17 major episodic television shows are currently being filmed.

“Business in the city in film and television has never been better,” said Commissioner Katherine Oliver of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting.

The success is largely attributable to state and city tax breaks designed to entice production companies into filming in the five boroughs, experts said.

In 2005, the state created a 10% tax break on so-called “below-the-line” costs – what production companies spend on set workers, supplies and production-related costs apart from the big-ticket salaries of actors, directors and writers.

Later that same year, the city added an additional 5% tax break on below-the-line costs. And last year, the state incentive was tripled to 30%, making the state and city more competitive with other markets in the cutthroat industry, Suna said.

The combined incentives have spawned $2.5 billion in new business and thousands of jobs since they hit the books, Oliver said.

“The tax incentives were key to the growth and sustainability of the production industry in New York,” said Kaufman Astoria President Hal Rosenbluth, who noted that his revenues have grown consistently since the tax breaks took effect.

The critically acclaimed ABC series “Life on Mars” is being shot at Kaufman, as is the upcoming feature film “Sherlock Holmes” starring Robert Downey Jr.

Fueled by the incentives, employment in the sector increased 11.8% for the first 11 months of 2008 – the largest percentage spike of any industry in the city, Crain’s New York Business reported last week.

Both Suna and Rosenbluth said they have had to turn away productions because their studios are all booked. And both operations are planning expansions to add studio space.

The industry has also provided a shot in the arm to businesses that service production companies – everything from restaurants to paint stores.

“When the movie production studios are busy, we benefit from it,” said Charles Sommer, president of Public Service Truck Renting in Long Island City.

Matt Dienstag, principal of Lenoble Lumber, said his company recently moved its headquarters from Manhattan to Long Island City to better service the industry.

“Having a thriving film and television industry is really important – not only to Queens, but for all of the city,” he said.

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