Kaufman Astoria Studios Break Ground on Big Expansion

After about a decade of delays, Kaufman Astoria Studios broke ground today on a $22 million expansion. The new building will be located diagonally across the street from Kaufman Astoria’s current building and will house an 18,000-square-foot sound stage, as well as an additional 22,000 square feet of offices, dressing rooms and carpentry shops, Crain's reports. Kaufman Astoria president Hal Rosenbluth had originally announced plans to expand in 1999, but put the project on hold after the 9/11 attacks. The studio is moving forward now with a $5 million grant from the city, at a time when the city is swarming with TV and movie productions, in part due to a recent increase in New York State tax breaks. Currently filming at Kaufman Astoria—which opened in 1920 as Famous Player Lasky—are Sesame Street, Life on Mars and Showtime’s new series, Nurse Jackie.