Background

In the Town of Greenburgh, TV Networks and Movie crews are required by Town Law to apply for a special permit to film and operate in the Town. This is the result of a local law passed in 2006 by the Town. The reason for the law “The Town Board finds that interest in filming, videotaping and recording on private and public property has been increasing in the Town of Greenburgh, for commercial purposes, creating possible hardship, inconvenience, danger and discomfort to large numbers of citizens and residents of the Town of Greenburgh because of the inconvenience and disruption of traffic placed on the public streets and private neighborhoods.” The Town Clerks office issues the permits which spell out the fees, regulations, and details of the requirements to comply with the special permit. The applicant among other requirements, is required to show insurance, coordinate with the Chief of Police for traffic concerns, and provide contact information for an on site representative.

During September and October, the USA Network TV Show “The Sinner” was filming in and around Hartsdale. Universal Content Productions reached out to the town as early as 8/28 as you can see in this letter. Filming begin in early September in the Poets Corner area at Clements Place, when a permit was granted for 9/4 and 9/5. Filming also occurred in the 4 Corners area on 9/5. If you didn’t live near those areas, you may not have been aware of the filming as it largely flew under the radar. The applicant also coordinated withe Hartsdale Parking Authority to use the garages and parking lots around the Hartsdale Train Station for filming it planning on 9/23 and 10/2.

In each case, the applicant, Universal Content Productions, applied for, and received a permit to film from the Town of Greenburgh. The applicant as part of that application, spelled out when and where they planed to film in each instance. Here are the details for Clement Place for example. In every case, the applicant contacted the town in advance, filed the required paperwork, and complied with any requirements set forth by the town as part of the permit.

Filming 10/2

The 9/23 filming at the train station caused some traffic backups but the filming was limited to the AM hours and the real issues did not come until 10/2. The Town was fully aware that on 10/2, Universal Content was planning on filming in the Hartsdale Train area. The applicant included the specific details of where and when they planned to film, here are the details. This is also included in the application for the filming permit filed with the town that states filming between 7:00am-10:00p

The applicants specifically stated that they were planning on filming during the height of rush hour, with filming scheduled from 8:00am-11pm and 5:30pm-7:30pm. The applicant also specifically stated that they would be filming along E. Pipeline Rd, directly at the train station and in a multitude of high traffic areas in and around the train. There is no ambiguity here in terms of what was requested and planned for by Universal.

As a result of that filming and despite advance notice and a permitting process specifically designed to address these situations, there were heavy delays and backups getting into and out of the train station throughout the day. This was most heavily felt at both rush hours and specifically the evening rush hour. We heard reports from commuters of it taking over an hour to get out of the train station area. People missed appointments, were late picking up their kids at daycare, late to work and had all sorts of issues getting around that day.

Failures

• The Town was fully aware of when and where the applicant planned to film. As part of the application, this was specifically spelled out.

  • The Town took no efforts of any kind to coordinate with the applicant to not film at rush hour and only film at non rush hour times to prevent traffic backups.

  • The Town took no efforts of any kind to prepare the area for additional traffic or expedite traffic on that day.

• The Town did not seek to recoup the cost of the extra police presence at the Train. As part of the special permit, the Town Clerk may further require, that the applicant utilize the services of that number of Town of Greenburgh police officers that the Chief of Police deems necessary to ensure the public safety at the location of the filming, videotaping or recording at a rate consistent with the collective bargaining agreement. The town failed to take advantage of this provision and was not reimbursed. The MTA on the other hand, was compensated for the additional on site staff they provided on 9/5 and 10/2 and received over $6k in compensation.

• Instead of admitting that they were fully aware of the film plans and simply dropped the ball, Supervisor Feiner announced he would propose a local law that would ban filming that would disrupt traffic. He must have amnesia because he already passed this law himself in 2006. It is the law I cited above which he passed as Supervisor. He blamed the issue on a “lack of proper coordination” and that is true. The unfortunate part about this is that while all of the lack of coordination was the Town’s fault, they deflected the blame and spun the public outrage into convincing the applicant to provide a waffle truck at the train station, to apologize for the inconvenience. It is not the film crew that should have been apologizing, but Supervisor Feiner and town leadership.

  • Has anyone heard anything on this from members of the Town Board? It would have been great to hear from them on this.

The good news here is that it appears lessons have been learned. The Town put out a notice from the police chief regarding future filming. Filming will be limited to Non rush hour times, and the town is receiving compensation for it’s police assistance.

The point of all of this is that we need to hold our local leaders accountable. These laws are passed, specifically to prevent these situations from occurring, and the town had every opportunity available to prevent the traffic issues from 10/2. I often say that we don’t need more laws or more committees, we need to use the ones we already have!

Dear Residents,

Please be advised that Universal Content Productions, LLC, has secured a permit to film on location at the Hartsdale Train Station on Monday, October 28, 2019, between the hours of 10:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

The aforementioned time shall be strictly enforced and is inclusive to all set up, staging, filming, and breakdown – NO EXCEPTIONS.  A digital trailer has been installed by the police  this afternoon at the Hartsdale Train Station to advise commuters arriving home this evening of this activity on Monday .The morning and evening rush hour will not be impacted. We anticipate temporary road closures during the course of the production and have assigned extra police officers  to handle any potential traffic conditions at the expense of Universal Content Productions LLC.

The affected roadways include Pipeline Drive and Aqueduct Rd. / East Hartsdale Avenue.  This activity shall be monitored closely by Police Supervisors. Please avoid this area if possible during this time period.

Sincerely, Brian Joseph Ryan Chief of Police