Step aside Hollywood! Here comes … Bayonne?
Last month, this newsletter asked if New Jersey is a threat to New York’s dominance in East Coast TV and film production.
While I do not think large white letters spelling out Bayonne will rise on a hillside above Newark Bay anytime soon (though, a hilarious idea), the state has seen an uptick in television and movie productions since reviving its tax credit in 2018.
The following year, 17 feature films were shot in New Jersey, the most since 2008, according to a recent report by CBRE. That number grew to 47 in 2022 before slipping to 38 last year.
I posed the same question to CBRE’s Anthony Jasenski, who pointed out that New York’s tax credit program provides $700 million in funding each year compared to New Jersey’s up to $300 million. So his answer was no, but with the diplomatic addendum that “rising water floats all ships here,” meaning that a regional spike in filming activity benefits everyone. (It should be noted that these tax breaks have been criticized for their return on taxpayers’ investment.)
Development teams have, in turn, announced a number of major studio projects in New York and New Jersey over the past few years. A massive campus rising in Bayonne is expected to feature 23 soundstages. Netflix plans a new production studio at a former army base in Monmouth County. Vornado Realty Trust, Blackstone and Hudson Pacific are building a studio at Pier 94 in Manhattan. Robert DeNiro’s Wildflower Studios opened this summer in Astoria.
I’ve seen the increase in movie and television production first hand. The park across the street from my Jersey City apartment was transformed into Millennium Park, a post-apocalypse, makeshift market for non-zombie residents of the Civic Republic in “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived.” I tried to be in background shots, but definitely failed.
Grove Street in Downtown Jersey City was turned into 1960s-era West Village for “A Complete Unknown.” Sadly, I did not see Timothée Chalamet.
What we’re thinking about: Will construction on Pacific Park start next year? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The Center for Biological Diversity is calling on federal authorities to investigate whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. violated federal law by sawing off a whale’s head on a beach in Massachusetts three decades ago, according to the New York Times.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The City Council on Tuesday held a hearing on Mayor Eric Adams’ nominee for corporation counsel, Randy Mastro. The long hearing was tense and dug into controversial aspects of his history. It suggests the Council may vote against him, City & State reports.
— A new report by the New York City Board of Correction found that one-third of requests for medical care made by Rikers Island detainees last year went unfulfilled, Gothamist reports. Of those seen by a medical professional, only 39 percent were seen within one day of the request, a timeframe required by the city. The city Department of Correction and NYC Health + Hospitals’ Correctional Health Service disputed the board’s finding, calling its methodology flawed.
— The Adams administration on Tuesday released a request for proposals to redesign Park Avenue between East 46th and East 57th streets. The city wants the design to add “greenery, public seating, concessions, and safer crossings for pedestrians.” That would be a plus for Park Avenue office owners.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $8.1 million for a condo unit at 520 West 28th Street. The apartment is 3,800 square feet and last sold in 2020 for $8 million. Serhant’s Peter Zaitzeff had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $4.6 million for 735-737 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. The mixed-use building is 4,400 square feet across two stories and was sold off-market.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was for a unit at the Flatiron House for $9.9 million. The condo apartment, at 39 West 23rd Street, spans 3,200 square feet. The Corcoran Group’s Richard Ziegelasch has the listing. — Joseph Jungermann