As part of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ “Working People’s Tour,” Adams was joined Wednesday in Sunnyside, Queens by labor leaders and film and TV partners to break ground on a new production studio that will create almost 1,000 construction jobs and around 750 permanent, full-time jobs.
The construction on East End Studios Sunnyside commences following the end of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which shut down the film and TV industry for months, and just after construction began on Sunset Pier 94 Studios in Manhattan.
More from Variety
The production campus will be 340,000 square feet with three full-service, ground floor soundstages adding up to 75,000 square feet. It will also include a 15,000-square-foot rooftop flex stage boasting views of the Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines.
The project comes at a cost of about $275 million and is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2025.
“Thanks to SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America securing fair deals for their workers, film and TV production is back in New York City — helping more than 185,000 New Yorkers get back to work,” Adams said.
“New York City is back, but our work is not done until every New Yorker has a pathway to success,” he continued. “We’re thrilled to see East End Studios bringing more than 1,500 jobs to the city and joining the ecosystem of successful local production spaces that are continuing to elevate Western Queens as a worthy rival of Hollywood.”
“The WGA East is committed to supporting a film and television community that can thrive and create jobs here in New York,” WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said. “Now that writing services are a qualified, covered expense under the New York State Film Tax Credit Program, we are hopeful that more writers’ rooms will be located in New York, bringing more productions and filling soundstages like the new East End Studios Sunnyside Campus.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
