For the first time ever, television and film productions that come from all over the world to shoot in the city will have to pay for the City Hall permits that have always been free, a major change in policy that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration blames on budget woes. Senior Bloomberg administration officials were to tell representatives from Hollywood studios, advertising and labor unions on Tuesday about the proposed $300 fee for films, commercials, music videos and television series. To be sure, $300 is a barely noticeable budget line in most multimillion-dollar television and screen projects, and most major cities — including Los Angeles, New York's major film competitor — already charge permit fees. But the change is an about-face in policy for a city that has long prided itself on uniquely providing free permits and other perks to lure projects to shoot in the iconic Big Apple. Permits have been free since the city established a film office in 1966. "At this stage with these unprecedented budget cuts, we have no other choice," said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. "We think this is the best way to go in this environment to address the cuts we are facing." The charge would be required once for every movie, commercial or music video shoot, no matter how many days the production was working in the city, and once a season for television projects. The city said it would waive the initial fee if a low-budget production could demonstrate "unreasonable hardship."
New York requires a permit for any shoot that uses vehicles or equipment other than hand-held devices and cameras on tripods — items such as props, sets, lights, dolly tracks, screens and microphone devices. In some situations, a permit also is needed if a production wants exclusive use of city property. About 3,050 filming applications that would be subject to the fee were submitted to the city last year. Additional permits the city grants to productions — for special locations, for example — would remain free. The city still plans to keep providing production freebies such as parking, street closures and police officers on set for no charge. Los Angeles, where a film permit costs $625 for two weeks of shooting, charges fees for those services as well. New York also provides millions of dollars in free advertising to promote projects shot here.
