Each month we will showcase a City agency employee or an industry specialist who helps to facilitate production in New York City. Robin Forst - Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center July 1, 2007 - Lower Manhattan can sometimes be a twisted jungle of old city streets, towering skyscrapers, and hidden parks – all attractive locations to filmmakers. And in recent years, lower Manhattan has also become home to a number of large construction sites that can often occupy several city blocks. Thankfully, an expert named Robin Forst, helps to negotiate the logistics of space in this area to facilitate film and video projects which aim to shoot in the midst of construction sites. Forst is the Director of Community and Government Relations at the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, an organization that was created under the joint executive orders of Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki as an oversight agency for the reconstruction of lower Manhattan after 9/11. They oversee all Manhattan construction south of Canal, river to river. “Our mantra,” said Forst, “is to facilitate construction, but to communicate about the construction as well.” The LMCCC works on projects both public and private. No matter what, their concern is mainly how building affects the area, and how they can keep life running normally while developing Lower Manhattan. Forst, who worked at ABC “in a former life,” believes in the importance of film and broadcasting to the city’s local economy. “It’s an important aspect [to developing business] that had to be tackled,” said Forst. Forst facilitates the coordination between productions and constructions by keeping lines of communication open. “People should contact me if they want to shoot in the area,” said Forst. “I will ask for something in writing including where they want to hold traffic and park vehicles.” But Forst doesn’t work alone. She has a dedicated team that assists her in coming to a solution about coordinating productions in each requested area. “I speak to co-workers a lot. If the production’s request doesn’t work with what’s going on in the area, we’ll work with them to propose an alternative.” More recently, the LMCCC posted maps of current construction projects on its website http://www.lowermanhattan.info. The site will give producers an idea of what’s feasible for their projects. But of course, Forst and the LMCCC are happy to discuss ways to make sure productions have the opportunity to see their vision come to fruition. Forst wants to ensure that they can “facilitate all the planning and work that’s needed to move forward.” More Industry Stars design by    The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting 1697 Broadway Suite 602, New York, New York 10019.
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