GET READY FOR THE BOOM

EZRA KNIGHT

After nearly three years, we are slowly making our way back to the familiar. This printed newsletter, the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought so much in our lives to a halt, represents a big step towards our union’s reemergence. The sense and touch of this paper, of something tactile, I feel is a welcome return after all the remote digital and electronic communication with our New York Local membership.

I’d like to take a moment to thank our member leaders and staff who worked so hard to find ways to get us back to work on sets safely. So much of the work we do that’s viewed on TV, film, cable or streaming platforms requires close physical proximity, and some of that work is incredibly intimate. This includes those who work in a newsroom or who may be out in the field covering live stories. These brave members

PRESIDENT’S LETTER CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 >>

he Greater New York City region has been experiencing a boom of production and new studio development spurred by the renewal of the state’s television and film incentives.

It’s no secret that tax incentives lead to economic gains for the states that provide them. Film and TV productions send millions of dollars into local economies, not only for production employees but also for a seemingly endless number of vendors: caterers, florists and dry cleaners. Now, with the development of these studios, commercial real estate can be included in the long list of industries that are benefiting.

In 2022, the New York State Tax Incentive was renewed through 2029, and this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget would extend the production and post-production credits an additional five years, through 2034. These tax incentives have spurred increased production, along with a near-doubling of the square footage of studio space. In New York City, brand-new studios are in development in Queens and Brooklyn, Steiner Studios is expanding into Sunset Park, and Lionsgate is growing its existing space in Yonkers.

New studios are also popping up all over the state. Western New York is seeing growth as well, with two new studios reportedly under development in Buffalo, and the Hudson Valley is getting a soundstage in Fishkill, New York.

“SAG-AFTRA members have strongly supported these tax incentives for years,” said SAG-AFTRA New York Local President Ezra Knight. “They help keep and create good union jobs in the place we call home. More studio space has become vital, as productions flow to the Greater New York City area. We will continue to fight to make sure that the trend will continue. If they build it, the work will come.” l

Work in the industry has expanded around the tri-state area. The passing of the Garden State Film and Digital Media Jobs Act in 2018 and the subsequent expansion of the program through 2034 has led to exciting developments across the Hudson River. The planning board of Bayonne, New Jersey, recently approved plans to build a major motion picture studio at the city’s southern tip. In nearby Newark, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and Great Point Studios have plans to build production facilities and six large soundstages.

Connecticut has benefited from its Digital Media & Motion Picture Tax Credit as well, with the launch of Jaigantic Studios, the first “mini-major” studio, in New Haven.

Data indicates that the number of live-action entertainment jobs worked by performers in the New York Local in 2022 set a record-breaking high.

2021

208,000 2022

215,000 became our essential workers, risking their lives to get us vital news during the lockdown and beyond. We’ve been reminded that we are united in our shared vulnerability and how much we give of ourselves in the work we do. I am grateful that SAG-AFTRA, Directors Guild of America, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts could collaborate and work together with the AMPTP to give us workplaces that felt safe when so much of the world did not.

As announced, I am happy to report that at the end of January, we were finally able to reopen the doors of all SAG-AFTRA offices nationwide, and also celebrate the SAG

Awards with an in-person viewing party for New York Local members. I was incredibly honored to celebrate with you all, as I attended the live ceremony for the very first time!

While the goal is to reclaim a sense of normalcy, this union is not the same organization it was when the doors closed in March 2020. The pandemic forced many changes upon us. Some were incredibly painful, like the sudden loss of work for so many of us. Others were wonderful opportunities for growth, like upgrading many of the union’s services to be accessible online and the expansion of educational opportunities to larger numbers of members through the President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach & Engagement, or PTEOE, video presentations.

In New York, we are finding our way toward a new rhythm and routine. Our city has always embodied the spirit of resilience, and as we restart, we aim to keep the things that work, adjust what can be tweaked, and rethink the things that no longer serve. Hence, this is a chance for true renewal. On behalf of the entire SAG-AFTRA New York Local Board, I thank you all in advance for your patience and understanding as we find our way. The doors have reopened, not to the past, but to the positive welcoming of the future.

Forward together,

Ezra Knight SAG-AFTRA New York Local President

SAG-AFTRA

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