Despite the best efforts of nearly every Film & Photo association working in New York City, the Mayors’ Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting adopted the amendment to the rules of the city requiring a $300 New Project Application Fee for all projects requiring a permit in New York City.

On June 3rd, at a hearing held to discuss this matter, American Photographic Artists, American Society of Media Photographers, National Press Photographers Association, Motion Picture Association of America, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America and other concerned industry folks spoke out against this proposal. A petition with 1200+ signatures was delivered to the Mayors Office and presented at the hearing.

In a joint statement by ASMP, APA and NPPA, the photo associations suggested that they would accept a fee, but not in its current form. Some type of proration would be acceptable (in the form of a yearly fee or a quarterly fee). Unfortunately, the Mayors’ Office didn’t listen.

On June 18th, Mark A Keeton, an actor (SAG, AFTRA, AEA), who organized the 1200+ signature petition and ran the “NYC Mayor’s $300 Film Permit Policy is UNFAIR to the Film/TV Industry” Facebook Group, said in a letter to the facebook group supporters:

Dear Group Members,
I don’t know how many of you are aware that I spoke at the MOFTB hearing regarding the fee and was joined by representatives from MPAA, DGA, PGA and others. I presented both a speech and the petition many of you signed and worked so hard to spread the word about.
Despite our best efforts, this fee was enacted last week:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i3e9fe8a77ad6bd90dbac91785dee4a7e

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/060110_moftb_application_fee.shtml

I wanted to let you all know that the results. Despite this result, we tried and that counts for a lot. It was a pleasure to work with Ed Rogers, the founder of this group, and all of you who wrote me about the fee and wanted to help. I incorporated many of your ideas and thoughts about the fee in my speech in the hopes that it would convince the powers that be that this fee was not only wrong, but that it was terrible timing for our film industry in the city.
Wishing you all the very best in your future endeavors. All we can do is keep plugging.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Keeton

Here is the text that appears on the MOFTB website:

June 11, 2010 – The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting has adopted an amendment to rules governing the issuance of permits issued by the agency. Effective July 11, 2010, MOFTB will charge $300 for the processing of the initial application of any new project.
MOFTB has been, for over forty years, the office providing one-stop clearance and permit operations for film and television productions in the City. As part of these services, the office continues to coordinate and provide free police assistance, free parking privileges and access to most exterior locations free of charge. Because the City faces unprecedented budget challenges, the office has adopted a permit application processing fee. This fee will allow the office to continue to provide these permitting services to the public, while offsetting budget cuts.
The final version of the rule was published in the City Record on June 11, 2010. This rule was published for comment in the City Record on May 3, 2010 and a hearing was held on June 3, 2010.
The new fee was determined by analyzing the administrative and personnel costs incurred by MOFTB for processing the initial application page of any new project that will be subject to this New Project Account application fee of $300.00. A New Project Account application will be valid for the duration of continuous photography for any scouting, rigging and/or shooting activity that requires a permit. For a television series, a single project application will be valid for the duration of one season. If a television series hosts a special outdoor event with a public audience, a New Project Account application will be needed unless the event requires a Premiere permit. The fee will apply to the application process for each project, and is not a location fee; the majority of City-owned exterior locations will remain free of charge, including its 300 square miles of streets. MOFTB would waive the new $300 project application fee when the applicant is able to demonstrate unreasonable hardship.
A New Project Account application, when submitted in connection with a Required Permit, shall be accompanied by a non-refundable fee of $300.00, paid in the form of a certified check or money order and made payable to “New York City Department of Finance.”

The text of the final amendment appears here:
http://nyc.gov/html/film/downloads/pdf/moftb_application_fee061110.pdf

About the author

Kevin Michael Reed
Kevin Michael Reed (Google+, Facebook) is a fashion & beauty photographer and producer/director based in New York City and Los Angeles, CA. He is the President/CEO of RedFOG Visual Media, a production company in New York City, and a partner in Passion of Photography, Inc, a company dedicated to teaching photographers and sharing our passion through charitable causes. Kevin has lectured and hosted workshops throughout the United States and the world teaching photographers the business and creative sides of photography. (Kevin's Fashion & Beauty Photography Portfolio can be seen here).

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