Brooklyn-based film production company Steiner Studios announced that it will build its film and television production hub at Bush Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The largest studio complex outside of Hollywood, Steiner Studios, was voted-in unanimously by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to authorize its 49-year-sublease on 668,000-square-feet of the Park on Sept. 30.

Steiner Studios has proposed that its new hub will include a minimum of 652,000-square-feet of sound stages, production offices and a support space, as well as a parking garage containing at least 500 parking spaces.

In addition to the site development, the company has made financial commitments that are in the interest of the community. Steiner Studios will commit $50,000 annually to support the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. It will also provide the City’s Department of Education with $25,000 annually for its Career and Technical Education program.

Additionally, it will offer year-round internships for students from the Career and Technical Education program and a summer internship program for two students from the local community. This project is anticipated to create approximately 4,000 permanent and temporary jobs with a goal of 25% participation rate by minority- and women-owned business enterprises. The Studios will be required to hire qualified candidates from the local community through the HireNYC program in order to ensure diversity and inclusion.

Officials and representatives welcomed Steiner Studios in Sunset Park, appreciating its economic impact to the community and its commitment for diversity and inclusion in the media and entertainment industry.

“This project will bring thousands of locally-accessible and family-supporting jobs, expand training opportunities for New Yorkers, and bring greater equity and inclusivity to the media production industry,” said James Patchett, President and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Steiner Studios’ arrival to the community is broadly seen as a hope to restore jobs that were obliterated by the pandemic. “The thousands of jobs this hub will create are especially welcome in the light of the challenging economic times our borough and city are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

However, there have also been objections from locals against NYCEDC’s decision. Sunset Park advocates urged the city to pause its plans to bring Steiner Studios to their community, arguing that they had had no say in the project. They asked for time to analyze the project’s impact.

“In three and half years, this project has been discussed publicly on only four occasions,” said John Santore, a member of the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s County Committee in Sunset Park, on Sept. 28. “This is public land, it involves public money. We want a say in it; this community deserves a say.”

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the development, Steiner Studios is approved to move into Sunset Park.