Like many New Yorkers, I beamed with pride last Sunday as the New York-based independent production Anora won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The wins are a testament to the ability of independent productions to thrive here.
As a Co-Executive Producer of Blue Bloods, a series that filmed in New York for its entire 14-season run, I have witnessed firsthand how film production incentives create jobs, sustain small businesses, and highlight our city on a global stage. When productions like ours choose New York, we provide thousands of camera operators, electricians, set designers, caterers, and more with well-paying jobs—most of them unionized—that fuel local economies and keep our neighbors employed citywide. We are proud to say that our show alone created 80,000 jobs and spent over a billion dollars with countless New York businesses throughout our 14 years of filming.
As a born-and-raised New Yorker producing a multi-season show set in, filmed in, and about New York, it was very important to me to give back to the communities we filmed in. Over the years we established a tradition of giving a donation to any fallen NYPD officer’s widow and family. We also supported the local precinct and donated to their coat drives and block parties. We donated to the neighborhood associations and local park conservancies that were impacted by our filming. And after Blue Bloods wrapped its final season last December, we’ve provided hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of in-kind donations of set clothing, furniture and more to battered women’s shelters.
A strong film tax incentive in New York ensures that we remain competitive and that the economic benefits of films produced about New York actually go to New Yorkers, while helping to diversify and democratize the industry. New York faces the challenge of retaining its skilled blue-collar workforce, as these high-paying jobs could migrate, or worse, see their expertise replicated in other regions, creating direct competition. The financial burden of making a film is high, and tax credits can make the difference between a promising independent film getting made or never coming to fruition.
As I testified last week in Albany, the choice is clear: We can either invest in an industry that provides thousands of jobs, strengthens local businesses, and amplifies New York’s cultural and economic influence, or we can allow productions to leave for greener pastures. I urge the state legislature to support Governor Hochul’s enhancements and expansion of the New York State Film and Production Tax Credit program.
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