Crime may not pay — but the crime TV shows that shoot in New York are about to.
The city is nearing a decision to charge TV shows and film productions a fee to shoot on city properties, such as courthouses, jails and schools.
Until now, in order to encourage filming in the city, it’s been free.
The proposed fee — $3,200 every time a show or movie is shot in a city-owned building — would be split between the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, which oversees production in the city, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which looks after city properties.
The new fee could affect the bottom line of shows such as NBC’s “Law & Order” or CBS’s “The Good Wife,” which rely on city courts and jails for most of their scenes.
The fee by itself would not generate a lot of cash — about $272,000 a year to be split between both offices, the city estimates.
But it would come as the city is considering charging for film permits, which are also currently free, and with the end of tax incentives that gave production companies a 35 percent break.
“Even productions that can afford the $3,200, if they want to commit to a full season or several seasons of filming, they read the political tea leaves — and if it seems there isn’t political support for filming, that affects decisions,” said Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East.
The mayor’s film office insists shooting here is still a bargain.
“The activity at these buildings represents less than 5 percent of the total location shooting that occurs in New York City, affecting only a fraction of productions,” said Julianne Cho, associate commissioner of the mayor’s film office.
“Private film locations routinely charge $10,000 per day for production — compared to $3,200 for the entire duration of a film project.”
The city will continue to provide film companies with free police protection and parking — worth at least $19,000 a week, officials say.
A number of the shows that film regularly in New York declined to comment yesterday on whether the new fees would make them move their shows elsewhere.
One producer at a New York-based show pointed out that $3,200 is still “a nice savings” compared to $10,000 per day — but it could impact independent films or new shows.
“To a smaller production, perhaps like a Comedy Central production — where you’re getting 20 percent of the budget of a network show — that starts to hurt.”