September 8, 2004 - Law & Order ruled on Chambers Street this September 8, when Mayor Bloomberg made a returning appearance on the television show. The Mayor played himself in a fictional press conference for the show's fifteenth season opener, entitled "Paradigm." The episode aired on NBC at 9:00 pm on Wednesday, September 22.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, “Law & Order has been a great friend to New York City. It's almost a standalone industry, generating over $700 million to our economy over fifteen great years, and I am always happy to pitch in anyway I can.”

New York City’s production industry generates $5 billion per year and employs 100,000 New Yorkers. Law & Order, television’s longest-running primetime drama, is shot entirely in the City. The show has sparked Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the upcoming Law & Order: Trial By Jury, which will begin production in the City on its first season this October.

 “New York City is as much a part of every Law & Order ensemble as the actors,” Dick Wolf, creator of Law & Order, said. “There is no such thing as a bad angle when you are shooting in the greatest City in the world.”

The scene was filmed in the lobby of the Surrogates Court at 31 Chambers Street, a historical landmark which the City offers free of charge to filmmakers. Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) rules require the show to pay the Mayor $695 for his appearance, which he will donate to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund.

Click here to read about the Mayor’s primetime debut

Click here for more information on filming in the Surrogates Court