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August 17, 2005

DeNiro Filming in Clinton Hill

We just got word that Robert Deniro's latest flick, an insider take on the CIA called The Good Shepard, has been filming on the streets of Clinton Hill (Gates and Clinton to be exact). Did anyone happen to take any pictures? Wonder whether he's using the sound stages at the Navy Yard too?
The Good Shepard [IMDB]

Comments

could he also be at lafayette and south portland? saw signs last night that said NO PARKING. Can't these film crews give more than 8 hours notice? it's very annoying actually.

i'm all for using nyc as a backdrop for movies, but please, let's think about the community!

Posted by: ltjbukem at August 17, 2005 1:59 PM

Nothing good every happens in this community without someone complaining because it disrupts their ability to park their car on city streets. What a shame.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 2:14 PM

Public transportation is the way to go! If not, try ZipCar to rent a car by the hour for hauling. In the meantime, we need more TV/movie production work in NYC.

Posted by: Alex at August 17, 2005 2:30 PM

I saw a bunch of trucks this morning on Willoughby and Hall, as well.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 2:31 PM

anonymous at 2:14: as i stated unambiguously, i am all for filming in nyc. but what if had not seen the no parking sign that was put up in the evening, did not move my car and they towed my car to the tune of $185+ for me to get it out? if you read the nyc.gov site on film permits, it is incumbent on the producer/filmer to give a minimum 24 hours notice.

Posted by: ltjbukem at August 17, 2005 3:00 PM

will the anti-car contingent give it a rest? this is not about whether owning a car is good for the environment or not..

what if the same filmers blocked off your entire block and you couldn't go into your house or apt and you had no idea until you got home that evening because they only put up the signs at noon while you were at work?

that, my friends, is THE ISSUE!

Posted by: ltjbukem at August 17, 2005 3:06 PM

Cars towed to accomodate filming are not charged a towing fee.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 3:15 PM

No - the issue is that you don't like your free parking space temporarily taken up by an enterprise that is key to the city's economy and provides much needed jobs and tax revenue. Think about the community!

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 3:17 PM

why on earth is this a good thing??? the city is a place for people to LIVE, not a film set. if people want to film in Clinton Hill they should be required to pay the community, not city hall. and it disrupts a lot more than just parking and traffic. the amount of money in tv and film makes me sick, do the communities they film in ever see a cent?

Posted by: wildman at August 17, 2005 3:21 PM

right, jobs for young hip gaffers who live in manhattan

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 3:22 PM

I saw filming on Lafayette and S Portland this afternoon.

Posted by: lesterhead at August 17, 2005 3:36 PM

What a bunch of whiners. Has anyone's car been towed? Has anyone not had enough notice of this? Some people will find anything to bitch and moan about on this blog. Jeez.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 3:46 PM

Hey , Brownstoner, you meant Robert DeNiro, right? Based on your laid back lapses of late--"Deniro" and "Pullitzer", it sounds like you're having a good time out there in CT. Enjoy!
Regarding the city- streets- as film sets question: based on 23 years of living in Brooklyn Heights--one big, ongoing film set, particularly Joralemon St. (still cobblestoned; the site of many "vintage" Woody Allen films), Garden Place (too many to innumerate) and, of course, Columbia Heights, we're approaching Bollywood here. But never, ever, has any film crew here not paid the street or community a "user's" fee--usually $1,000 plus, depending on time spent,-used for planting trees, etc. The community block association is the group that usually negotiates: are you sure the Clinton Hill/Ft. Greene association isn't getting a donation? If not: ask!

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 4:03 PM

There is no true CH/FG Block Association. If there is, I'm sure they couldn't negotiate tying their own shoes.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 4:06 PM

I saw a film crew shooting next to the park in Fort Greene last thursday around 7pm. They were shooting a scene in which one black guy was on his knees on the sidewalk with his hands behind his head, while another guy was doing something with a hammer as a weapon.
I thought, wow: an all-white film crew with those guys acting out that scene (which was some sort of criminal scene in which a black guy was getting arrested or attacked) . . . it's like a micrososm.
Didn't they see the irony in it? I walked away wondering if film crews with scripts like that shooting scenes like that were merely reflecting the issues they were acting out, or (more likely, in my opinion) exacerbating them.

I have no idea if that crew had anything to do with the Deniro film.

Posted by: jk at August 17, 2005 4:14 PM

whoa! If you live in Ft. Green/Clinton Hill and you are unaware of the notably active Ft. Greene association, get yourself immediately to: historicfortgreene.org. And that's just for starters...

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 4:25 PM

Hip Gaffers is a good oxymoron.

Posted by: Whitbo at August 17, 2005 4:27 PM

There are a lot of inaccurate statements below. First, I saw the guy putting the no parking signs up at 1:00 pm yesterday, and they were filming today at around the same time, so that is 24 hours (sorry ltj). Second, hipsters can't afford to live in Manhattan. Duh. Third, there is most definitely an active Fort Green Association, and separate block associations that are very well organized on S Oxford and S Portland streets.

Also, there's no need to jump down ltj's throat. He wasn't anti-movie, he was just making a mild complaint about parking and it didn't seem like he was all that mad or anything.

Posted by: escap at August 17, 2005 4:46 PM

but escap, ppl have to work. therefore, even if you get off at 5pm, you're home by 6pm and you have to leave the next morning by 7am. it's not like one can leave work and come back to move the car.

again, i've got no issue w/ filming. just allow ample time, esp since that spot was good until today.

Posted by: ltjbukem at August 17, 2005 5:01 PM

There's also a Clinton Hill organization although their website is somewhat lacking in info:

http://www.clintonhill.org/

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 5:15 PM

Wildman - Uhmmmm people need to work here too. That is what makes living here possible.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 5:27 PM

The complainers on this site are such losers. Park your car around the corner that day if they are filming you dweeb. Good God. It's not the end of the world.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 5:54 PM

Anonymous at August 17, 2005 05:27 PM, that's exactly what i said, people need to work.

i'm fine with being a loser and a dweeb. i just want to be loved (but not by the film industry please).

Posted by: wildman at August 17, 2005 6:10 PM

We live on Waverly & were watching last night as they worked. Matt Damon was there as well. It appeared as though they were using the house that was for sale with Aguayo & Huebner & profiled here on this site. Could it be 52 Gates Ave, perhaps? Anyhow, I checked nyc.gov Dept of Film & Theater to see whether or not they were still filmig here, but it appears that they no longer list that detailed info about production sites.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 6:18 PM

Re: the house on Gates (the small-ish one with the mansard roof profiled and listed with A&H), there were orange traffic cones on the street in front of it and the neighbors yesterday am, and workers were removing the bars from the parlor window of that house (yeah yeah, I'm sure they'll be reinstalling in light of the "up and coming" nature of the neighborhood:)) I wonder if the house's unpopular exposed brick wall will be making its film debut.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 6:29 PM

They tow your cars but don't give you tickets. They just relocate them.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2005 11:04 PM

Film production is good for New York - that's why the city (and the state) has introduced so many new tax breaks to encourage on location filming here.

For those who object to the temporary loss of their usual parking space, you can always rent a spot in a garage, or buy a house in Ditmas Park.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 8:40 AM

I've never understood why so many Brooklynites seem to feel so entitled to their cars, especially those living in Brownstone neighborhoods. A car is a huge luxury in a metropolis like New York, which provides plenty of public transportation options. Unless you need to use your car daily to get to work or some other equally important reason, maybe you shouldn't have it, or should live somewhere that accomodates cars more easily. I can't tell you how many people I know in Park Slope who have cars and use them about once a week, to "get out of town." Usually this means shopping at a mall on Long Island.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 8:46 AM

"'I've never understood why so many Brooklynites seem to feel so entitled to their cars, especially those living in Brownstone neighborhoods."

What? The car someone works hard to make the payments on is now a privilege? And people in brownstone neighborhoods have less right to car ownership than people in other neighborhoods?

Sorry, but that's sanctimonious crap and I don't even own a car.

Posted by: TW at August 18, 2005 9:17 AM

If you don't really need a car and choose to live in Brownstone Brooklyn, a city that was never designed to accomodate cars, then no, you probably should not have one. Car ownership is a luxury, not a necessity, in most large cities. Not only does it congest the streets, but, as I'm sure you're aware, is not great for the environment either.

If you really need your car, great. But what do you define as need? If you only "need" to use a car once a month, perhaps you should consider renting one. I do feel that Brownstone Brooklynites generally have a sense of entitlement about owning car. Most Manhattanites (I know) don't behave this way. Although I love Brooklyn, it's one thing I've found to be a turn-off about living here.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 9:38 AM

If someone wants to spend his/her money to buy a car, that's fine. If a film crew temporarily inconviences that car owner, that's fine, too. Appreciate all the days drivers get to park their cars for free rather than complain about the one day they can't park as close to their homes.

Posted by: David at August 18, 2005 11:33 AM

Manhattanites don't have cars because on street parking is impossible and garages charge upwards of three hundred bucks a month for a space. Are you suggesting that Manhattanites are somehow more virtuous than Brooklyn car-owners? Like many things - owning a house for example - cars are not an option for most people in Manhattan. That's why they move to Brooklyn.

Posted by: TW at August 18, 2005 12:01 PM

All I'm saying is that many Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods are overcrowded, congested, and polluted. These neighborhoods were never designed to accomodate cars. For most people living in these neighborhoods, cars are not vital, but something of a luxury. Luxury here being defined as something that is NOT vital. Many people living in Brownstone Brooklyn do not need to drive to work, or take their children to school. And yet many people living in these neighborhoods still choose to own a car, even though they rarely use said car, or use it for trips that could be made via public transportation.

I think a lot of people who move to Brooklyn for a larger home feel entitled to a car as well. To the whole suburban thing. Even though Brownstone Brooklyn is patently not suburbia. Manhattanites KNOW they live in a city. Brooklynites in the more dense Brownstone neighborhoods that make no accomodation to car ownership seem to be a little confused on this point. Sure if you need to drive to Queens to work, or you have to schlep 5 kids to 5 different schools, owning a car is justified. But if you only use it to hit the beach a few times each summer, or stock up at the WalMart on Long Island, maybe you could think about making a choice which is both a little more environmentally and urban friendly - rent a vehicle, keep our air cleaner, our streets less polluted, noise levels down, road rage to a minimum...

I just feel (strongly) that if people chose to live in urban environments, they should try in live in harmony with that envirmonment. Fewer cars in Brooklyn would be a good thing.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 1:07 PM

Film production boosts the New York economy tremendously as one of the largest industries in the city. They tow your car for free to another nearby parking spot they find for you. Signs go up with as many hours notice as possible. Generally, they can't give more notice because productions often don't know until the day before where they will be shooting the next day. It depends on the weather forecasts and whether a scene calls for sun or rain and also whether or not they finish shooting at the previous day's location. And most film production people live in Brooklyn or New Jersey, not Manhattan.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 3:15 PM

My experience with ZipCar (www.zipcar.com) has been wonderful. You go online to rent a car by the hour and you pick it up from a neighborhood parking garage. For those of you who use a car less than, say, twice a week, I'm sure it's cheaper than buying your own. It's certainly better for the environment and relieving street congestion.

Posted by: Daniel at August 18, 2005 3:48 PM

That's why we bought ahouse with a DRIVEWAY!

Posted by: clinton hillbilly at August 18, 2005 4:42 PM

Me too!

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 6:11 PM

Just because you have a driveway doesn't mean you aren't destroying the environment, creating road rage, generating noise pollution, etc. If you live in a brownstone neighborhood you should take the subway, end of story.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 18, 2005 6:20 PM

To anon who made the previous comment --
you are completely ridiculous. Go buy a cabin in the woods deep in the northwest and bill yourself Unabomber 2.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 19, 2005 3:54 PM

> -- what a joke. Sorry you can't afford a car -- enjoy your Schwinn and your subway ride. While you're biking, look at all the store windows and see if you can't buy yourself a freakin' life while you're pedaling.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 19, 2005 3:56 PM

What areas are being most heavily used for film and commercial shoots? I know Brooklyn Heights was popular because of its views of the City, but have more crews further into Brooklyn?

Posted by: Bill at August 19, 2005 5:31 PM

I just found this blog by accident and thought I'd chime in. I'm a Location Manager living in Ft. Greene.

The previous responses are correct: You're not charged for your car being relocated and the Location Manager, Parking Coordinator and Local Precinct all get a list detailing which cars are moved from what spot TO what spot, i.e. Blue Mazda/ plate number xxx-xxx moved from in front of such and such address to in front of such and such other address.

If the production is not using the city's Vehicle Towing Unit, the rules are that they have to post NO PARKING a minimum of 24 hours before coning off the spaces or before there is a street cleaning day (whichever is longer), so that everyone parking on the block is guaranteed to see the signs.

If the production IS towing cars they have to post the street 48 hours in advance.

As a rule, we try to post resident letters with as much advance notice as possible, but, yes, sometimes our schedule changes abruptly due to weather or other things.

The vast majority of neighborhoods are fairly accommodating as long as they get reasonable notice that we're coming.

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August 17, 2005

DeNiro Filming in Clinton Hill

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