The groundbreaking for the new East End Studios Sunnyside Campus. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.
On November 15, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Andrew Kimball and Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Pat Kaufman joined East End Studios to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new film and television production studio in Sunnyside, Queens.
The East End Studios Sunnyside campus will be a 340,000 square foot facility with three full-service soundstages and a 15,000 square foot rooftop flex stage featuring views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. The facility will also have 125,000 square feet of production, office and mill spaces.
The project is expected to cost $275 million and received financial support from the New York City Industrial Development Agency. The Sunnyside Campus is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025. The project is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and approximately 750 permanent jobs.
The groundbreaking of the East End Studios Sunnyside campus follows the groundbreaking of the Sunset Pier 94 Studios facility near Hell’s Kitchen earlier this year. The city’s film and television production industry has continued to grow over the past decade, with over 185,000 jobs and creating over $82 billion in economic impact. The East End Studios campus groundbreaking also helps signify a return to production following the end of both the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes from this past summer.
Mayor Adams stated, “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. New York City is back, but our work is not done until every New Yorker has a pathway to success. 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.”
Jonathan Yormak, founding partner of East End Studios, stated, “New York City has profound unmet demand for best-in-class, fully integrated stage campuses. Our Sunnyside Campus will provide an elevated standard of workflow that doesn’t exist in any New York City stage at this time. East End Studios is exceptionally proud to participate in the city’s ever-growing place in the production landscape. We are honored to acknowledge today’s milestone with our valued partners at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York City Industrial Development Agency, and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)