Robert De Niro-backed Wildfl ower Studios gets
fi nal approval to start construction in Astoria
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | FEB. 18 - FEB. 24, 2022 5
BY BILL PARRY
The city has given the green light to
Wildflower Studios to begin construction
of its massive, state-of-the-art, $600
million film production facility that will
rise next to the Steinway Piano company
along Luyster Creek in Astoria.
The Robert De Niro-helmed project
received its final permit from the Department
of Buildings on Jan. 25 and will
start construction on the seven-story studio
complex nearly two years after the
group closed on a deal for the 5.25-acres
for more than $71 million. When completed
in 2023, Wildflower Studios will
join Kaufman Astoria Studios and Silvercup
Studios in the entertainment production
sector in western Queens.
“Astoria and the borough of Queens
as a whole have been titans of the television
and film industry for decades, creating
thousands of jobs and indirectly
supporting countless families,” Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards
said. “We can’t wait to welcome Robert
De Niro, another industry titan,
and Wildflower Studios to the ‘World’s
Borough’ with open arms. We look forward
to seeing the fruits of the studio’s
Queens-based vision on the big screen in
the near future.”
The project is expected to bring
at least 500 construction jobs and
more than 1,000 daily union jobs upon
completion.
“We are delighted to welcome Wildflower
Productions, a valued member
of the Queens Chamber of Commerce,
to Astoria, and will continue to advocate
on their behalf as they expand in
Queens,” Queens Chamber of Commerce
President and CEO Tom Grech said.
“Western Queens has established itself
as a premier location for film and television
production. The addition of Wildflower
Productions will help create more
good-paying jobs for Queens residents
working in the industry, and catalyze
economic activity that supports local
small businesses. I look forward to seeing
a generation of iconic films shot and
produced in our own backyard.”
When he represented Wildflower
through the city’s arduous public review
process last year, Community Board 1
voted 35-1 in favor of the project after Raphael
De Niro, the famed actor’s son, described
how his firm had been talks with
Urban Upbound about job opportunities
for residents of the Astoria, Queensbridge
and Ravenswood Houses, as well
as conversations with LaGuardia Community
College, the Frank Sinatra High
School for the Arts and the Variety Boys
& Girls Club in Astoria. He then detailed
how the complex was designed with a
small cafeteria and no restaurants and
no commissary to encourage studio
employees to partake of Astoria’s restaurants
instead of staying on campus.
“One of the greatest things about
Astoria is that, to us, it’s one of the most
food-rich and amenity-rich neighborhoods
in New York City,” De Niro said.
“And so we are going to be encouraging
everyone to eat in the community.”
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the famed
Danish architecture firm, designed the
“futuristic world-class content creation
campus in Queens,” which includes 11
sound stages, 310 off-street parking spaces,
and a waterfront esplanade that will
be open to the public. The facility will
also include production support areas,
public and private offices.
The city has given final approval for Wildflower Studios to begin building its film
production complex in Astoria. Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
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