NYC To Begin Charging For Film Permits Due To Budget Trouble

According to The Hollywood Reporter, film and television productions that wish to film in New York City will have to pay a $300 fee for City Hall permits for the first time in the city's history.

The permit fee has been proposed to Hollywood studios, advertising and labor unions as a means of alleviating the many budget cuts the city is facing. The fee proposal is a decided about-face from the city's past policy, the perks of which enabled projects to film in the city for free since 1966, when the city's film office was first established. The fee would raise less than $1 million annually, nearly half of the film office's current budget, but a small sum in comparison to the city's $60 million budget.

Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting Katherine Oliver stated that "At this stage with these unprecedented budget cuts, we have no other choice. We think this is the best way to go in this environment to address the cuts we are facing."

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