Film & Television Production Company, Silvercup Studios Opening Up Shop In The Bronx

And then there were two.

Just four months after York Studios announced the purchase of 10 acre lot to construct a total of 300,000 square foot film and television production facility in the Soundview section of The Bronx, the Wall Street Journal now reports that Silvercup Studios is moving into our borough in Port Morris adding an additional 120,000 square feet to their facilities which are located in Long Island City, Queens.

The Bronx was once home to several major film & television production facilities and now will be home to major players again.

Silvercup studios purchased 295 Locust Avenue for $15 million and according to WSJ will be investing an additional $20 million to convert the building into 4 production studios.

With a lot of home grown talent in the film and television production industry it is only proper that such facilities continue to expand into our borough—an industry that is an economic powerhouse in New York City which the WSJ says: “The sector annually generates an estimated $7.1 billion in direct spending and $400 million in tax revenue, while employing 130,000 New Yorkers behind the scenes, said a spokeswoman for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.”

Bronx resident Gene DeFrancis has been calling for Film & Television production to come to the Mott Haven/Port Morris area of The Bronx for years now. Last year in an interview with The Bronx Times, he was quoted as saying:

“Locals would embrace a film studio development far more than they did the other main development to rock the area in recent years — the relocation of FreshDirect to the Harlem River Yards at the borough’s southern tip, said DeFrancis, who lives in Allerton but often hosts productions in the area.

“I know it would not face the same resistance as Fresh Direct,” said the actor. “And it would help local business and create real jobs.”

The new Silvercup Studios will be located just a few blocks away from the soon to open Randall’s Island Connector as well as the Mott Haven-Port Morris Waterfront Plan—a community led and designed plan for a sustainable waterfront in the South Bronx that would provide equitable access to area residents to our waterfront as well as add additional, much needed greens space in the area.

What do you think about film and tv coming back home to The Bronx? We want to know!