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NYC’s Steiner Studios To Build New Production Hub At Former Port Complex In Brooklyn

New York City’s Steiner Studios will build out a new 500,000-square-foot film and television production hub in Sunset Park, Brooklyn with eight soundstages, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment announced Thursday.

With $320 million in private investment from Steiner, the project, at a former port complex called Bush Terminal, will create thousands of jobs, the city said, and “advance diversity and equity in the media and entertainment industry” through targeted programs. The idea is for construction to start in 18 months and take 24 months after that to complete.

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Steiner, which operates the extensive Brooklyn Navy Yard production campus Steiner Studios, said it expects to support 2,200 jobs upon project completion, including set builders, electricians, scenic artists, grips, propmasters, set dressers, hair and make-up artists, and costume designers. The investment is also expected to create at least 1,800 temporary construction jobs and comes with a goal of 25% participation rate by Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises.

“TV production is a thriving industry in New York, and this project helps jump-start the city’s economic recovery and growth,” said Doug Steiner, Chairman of Steiner Studios. “We’re beyond thrilled to have been selected, and to bring 2,200 high-paying jobs and opportunities to Bush Terminal.”

COVID-19 may have slowed production around the world to a trickle but that hasn’t stopped a barrage of plans to expand or build new facilities from New York to Los Angeles to Atlanta and elsewhere in anticipation of a return to normal. An explosion of demand for streaming content had started to stretch existing capacity and local governments, studios and financial players recognized a need and opportunity.

This project project includes gut renovation of two buildings, new parking, completing the adjacent Bush Terminal Piers Park, a playground designed with community input and contributing $25,000 annually to recreational programming at the waterfront park in the industrial section of Brooklyn that opened in 2014 with views of the area’s tidal pools and the Bay Ridge Channel.

“This new production hub builds on the City’s commitment to increasing access and opportunities for New Yorkers in the film and television industry with expanded soundstage facilities and centers for skilled job training and talent development,” said MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo. “Situated alongside tech and garment manufacturing in the heart of the Made in NY Campus, the new facilities with added soundstage space will strengthen our local industry and raise the city’s profile as a global creative capital.”

The project is designed to spur New York City’s economic recovery while making sure it “is both robust and fair,” said Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development.

The project includes:

  • $50,000 per year to advance opportunities in media and entertainment to New Yorkers of color and women through MOME’s highly successful Made in NY Production Assistant and Made in NY Post-Production job-training programs, ensuring that an additional 25 to 30 participants a year gain work experience, training, and connections to jobs.

  • $250,000 over 10 years to a non-profit organization supporting gender equity, diversity and inclusion in the New York City film and television production industry.

  • Providing free office or classroom space for one or more non-profits that advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion in the production industry.

  • Creation of a new, offsite local program for high school students to train for jobs in the production industry, with up to $50,000 towards its establishment, plus $25,000 per year for resources and programming and school year internship opportunities.

  • A summer internship program that will include two paid 10-week positions, focusing in the areas of stage operations, lighting and grip, and production facilities management. These will be filled through local community organizations.

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