It's all fun and games until someone blocks the bike lane.
At a Community Board 1 meeting in Greenpoint last night, local residents hemmed and hawed about the television show Smash, which has been filming in studios in the area. This is nothing new, as New Yorkers have long complained about Hollywood disrupting their lives (even if the shoots bring money to the city, and creates jobs). According to the Brooklyn Paper, last night locals had a long list of complaints against the production, from noise to blocking the bike lanes.
When things get really busy at the Broadway Stages soundstage at West Street, trucks park on both sides of Eagle Street, obstructing the bike lane that leads to the Pulaski Bridge and making the road dangerous for drivers and cyclists, neighbors allege.
On top of that, trucks idle on the street for hours in the early morning, disturbing the sleep of some residents, and crew members allegedly regularly park in loading zones and residential driveways. One resident, Todd Eaton, said at the meeting: “They don’t use parking lots, they park on the streets, and we don’t have any relief. We are not here to shut down shows and we’re not against film production, but the staff of this show has been aggressive and disrespectful."
For now, the Broadway Stages owner, Tony Argento, says he'll force crew to park elsewhere, promising, “I will personally come and move the vehicle myself.”
While typically complaints come when productions are filming on location and shutting down streets, recently complaints have been directed at studios, like this one. Just last month residents near Silvercup Studios in Queens also wanted a break from so much filming.
