Construction Begins on the City's Only Outdoor Film Lot in Astoria

Last week construction began on the what will become the city’s first outdoor film lot at Kaufman Astoria Studios. It will be built on 36th Street between 34th and 35th Avenues in Astoria. The city has removed the street from the grid and the Economic Development Corporation leased the street from the city, allowing Kaufman to lease it from the EDC. The 38,400 square foot lot will allow productions to construct false facades for exterior shoots so they can work near the sound stages within the building. Kaufman has helped to draw other cultural institutions to the neighborhood including the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and the Museum of the Moving Image. High profile films and TV shows have used the studio since it opened in 1977 when “The Wiz” shot sequences there including “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Sesame Street.” One person who works nearby told DNAinfo that the addition of an outdoor film lot will “add some glitz and glamor.”

Construction Starts on City’s First Outdoor Film Lot at Kaufman Astoria [DNAinfo] GMAP

Photo: Jeanmarie Evelly/DNAinfo