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Map: Here's Where Most TV & Movie Productions Film In NYC
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 20, 2016
Modified Jun 20, 2016
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 20, 2016
Modified Jun 20, 2016
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That time Spielberg took over DUMBO. (Photo via vbadikov's flickr)
The Financial District is a favorite spot to film, according to a new data dump that highlights when and where both television and movie productions have set up around NYC for the past four years. Penn Station, Greenpoint, and the picturesque West Village were other top spots.
According to the data Renthop compiled—taken from film permit data collected by the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting—Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, and a big chunk of Brooklyn is underused by Hollywood, with most filming located in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Waterfront.

Popular movie locations were: the Financial District (and New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the tip that neighborhood), Penn Station, Hell's Kitchen, and the World Trade Center.

Meanwhile, some of the top TV spots were: the Financial District, Greenpoint, Civic Center, the Upper East Side, and the West Village.
On the maps you can see a fair amount of filming is done in Gowanus, which is likely thanks to Eastern Effects Studio, which is currently in danger of being shut down by the city following an alleged bureaucratic mistake that could demolish the state-of-the-art facility.
This data also shows an increase "of about 15% over the years in permits filed for television filming" in New York, however, a decrease in feature film permits was seen around 2014. The city's film industry "is vital to NYC by providing tens of thousands of quality jobs and benefits to our local businesses," as City Hall spokesperson Raul Contreras told us in regards to Eastern Effects current problem, so seeing a dip in permits, or the closure of a studio, isn't good for business.
We asked Renthop for some numbers, and here are some breakdowns from the spreadsheets they shared (spanning 2012 to 2016):
- Greenpoint is very popular: 857 TV shows were filmed in the 11222 area code. (Note: Producers must file one film permit for each day they shoot, so this number includes multi-day shoots for one production.)
- 10121, 10119, 10041, 11366, 10459, 11436, 11411, 11228, 11426, 10310, 11229, 11203, 10461, 10469, 11235, 10467, 11229, 11203, 10461, 10469, 11235, 10467, 10465 are all part of the one-timers club, only getting one TV shoot in all those years.
- The only neighborhood to hit the triple digits for film shoots is was Greenpoint (11211) with 119 movies filmed there in the past four years.
- Related: Some Greenpoint residents have called on the industry to cut back on filming in the neighborhood for years, but its industrial chic streets are appealing to productions like Daredevil and Girls.
Tagged
filming
map
movies
television
tv
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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