by William C. Thompson, Jr.

FROM “Law & Order” and “Sex and the City” TO “The French Connection” and “Do the Right Thing,” New York City has been the setting for some of the greatest TV shows and films ever produced. The movie and TV industry is one of the most vital to the city’s economy, employing 30,000 people directly and tens of thousands more in related fields. Capitalizing on this critical source of jobs and revenue, the state adopted a tax credit in 2004 to encourage more film and TV production here. Under competitive pressures from other locales, the state later expanded the tax credit on production costs from 10 percent to 30 percent. The number of shooting days in New York City jumped by 10,000 in a year. A recent Ernst & Young study showed that the expanded incentives created or retained 7,000 film-industry jobs and generated another 12,500 jobs from associated activity. That activity is expected to add some $2.6 billion to the state’s coffers by 2010, so last spring the state extended the tax credit through 2013. Unfortunately, in the current budget, the state hasn’t allotted enough funds to sustain this important program. Especially in the current downturn, we can’t afford to risk driving this important employment base out of our region. We’re all aware of our need to diversify our economy, which became perilously dependent on Wall Street in recent years. New York state and New York City are attractive to producers because of the concentration of actors and artists, our extensive transportation network and the diversity and geography of our neighborhoods. But these attributes themselves aren’t enough to secure our position as a pre-eminent location to film. No question, we risk losing productions if we eliminate this credit. In a bit of irony that should give us pause, the $100 million tax-incentive package lawmakers are considering now in California is known as the “Ugly Betty Production Credit,” after the TV production that relocated from Los Angeles to New York last year. We’re proud to have America Fererra and her colleagues filming on our streets, but without the New York state credit that brought the show to our city, it may cease production here. That would be a terrible shame. The TV shows and movies shot here create free advertising for local attractions. Research suggests that cities serving as locations for successful films benefited from a 54 percent increase in tourism over the following four years. And New York City has nurtured the work of countless artists whose work is inseparable from the city that inspired them: Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Sidney Lumet, Woody Allen. Without a firm commitment to film and TV in our city, we may well be stifling the dreams of other artists in the making. By every measure, the credit has benefited the city and state. We must move now to restore funds to the program so production can continue unimpeded. William C. Thompson, Jr. is New York City comptroller.