Tonight at 7:00 PM: Here More About NYC on Film

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The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association
October 09, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association will be holding its October meeting TONIGHT at 7:00 PM. We’ll meet at 2306 3rd Avenue (the Salvation Army Building):

On the 9th we’ll have Kwame Amoaku who is New York’s Deputy Commissioner for the Film Office, in the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment's mission is to support and strengthen New York City's creative economy and make it accessible to all. In 2019, the creative industries accounted for more than 500,000 local jobs and have an economic impact of $150 billion annually.

The History of Filming in NYC

Filming in New York City wasn't always as easy as it is today. In the 1960's, producers often required upwards of 50 permits to shoot their project, and gaining access to some of New York's most popular locations was tricky, at best. Producers were required to obtain a permit for every single day of production. The Department of Commerce and Industrial Development issued permits for filming, but producers were also required to receive approval from the Police Department, Highways Department and Traffic Department. If wires and cables were used, the permission of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity was needed, and if parks property were being used, additional permits were required. All of this red tape caused many filmmakers to take their production out of New York City.

In 1966, Mayor John Lindsay changed this process and gave the Department of Commerce the authority to issue a single permit for filming in City-owned locations and abolished the power of City officials to censor the content of films shot on public property, as long as they didn't pose a risk to the public or break the law. He appointed an aide to help the film industry negotiate for shooting at privately owned sites and established a police unit to control crowds during filming. He appointed an aide to help the film industry negotiate for shooting at privately owned sites and established a police unit to control crowds during filming.

Kwame will talk to us about film shoots in our neighborhood and film/media jobs and highlight amazing films that have used Harlem as their backdrop.

If you’re into New York City on the big screen, make sure to make this public meeting.

Deputy Commissioner of Film - Kwame Amoaku

Deputy Commissioner of the Film Office at the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Kwame Amoaku, will headline the October HNBA meeting (and yes, you’re invited). Kwame serves as principal advisor on film and television production policy in New York City. This includes promoting New York City as a premier location for production, developing and maintaining relationships with key industry stakeholders, and overseeing the film permitting process.

Prior to joining MOME in July 2022, he served as director of Chicago's Film Office. Amoaku's career in film and television spans 30 years, and includes experience in directing, producing, writing, cinematography, acting, and location management. As director of the Chicago Film Office, he helped develop COVID-19 protocols that allowed filming permits to be issued by June 2020 and served as part of the city's COVID Recovery Task Force, which invested in workforce development and infrastructure to increase soundstage capacity and revenues by 25 percent and film production by 125 percent. Amoaku also designed and implemented a workforce development program for Chicago residents from underserved areas and created the Chicago Independent Producers Lab, to provide professional development and support to Chicago's independent film community.

Urban UpBound to Speak at the HNBA Meeting, Tonight

Christopher Wilkinson, the Engagement Outreach Coordinator for the Urban Upbound East Harlem Office Citywide Workforce Development Program, will speak to us tonight at our October meeting. Christopher works to develop and establish partnerships with Community-based Organizations within the East Harlem area to help increase enrollment membership at the East Harlem site.

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