Eastern Effects Owner Rallies Outside City Hall in Defense of Studio

• Pictured: Scott Levy speaks Wednesday on the steps of City Hall. Photo by John V. Santore

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — A visibly emotional Scott Levy, the owner of Gowanus film studio Eastern Effects, took to the steps of City Hall on Wednesday to call for the city to leave his business alone while the Gowanus Canal is cleaned. 

"I can't thank you enough for supporting what we've built," Levy said tearily to a group of backers, including members of the film industry, who had joined him at the gathering. 

The long-planned cleanup of the Gowanus Canal and its adjacent land, saddled with decades of environmental pollution, is now expected to begin in 2020, according to the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 

As part of that effort, the city wants to build an eight-million-square-foot storm water and sewage retention tank under a property next to Levy's, a job expected to take six years. The tank will prevent raw sewage from pouring into the canal during storms. 

City officials have said they need to stage workers and equipment next to the site, and think 270 Nevins St., the property Levy leases for Eastern Effects' sound studio, is the best way to limit the impact of construction on the community (though some locals remain unconvinced).

Staging there would also guarantee the property would have toxic waste removed from its soil, officials say, something that may not happen if another location is used. 

Even so, DEP official Eric Landau recently told a group of Community Board 6 members that the location of the staging area is still up for discussion. He also said that the city would be eager to help Levy relocate Eastern if its site is chosen. 

But on Thursday, Levy doubled down on his past calls for the city to find another spot where it can stage workers.  

Levy says he's poured $5 million into the sound studio, and that it provides about 200 union jobs during shoots, including filming for the popular TV show "The Americans."

On Wednesday, he delivered 2,300 letters to City Hall asking for 270 Nevins St. to be protected. Almost all of the letters were from New York City residents, according to a spokesman. 

One of the missives shared with the press came from Jay Roewe, the senior vice president of West Coast productions for HBO. 

"A record number of scripted television series were filmed in the City in 2015," Roewe wrote. "However, the number of soundstages has not been able to keep pace with the overwhelming demand. The closing of a production studio will make it even more difficult for companies like mine to find space to produce in New York City." 

Kenneth Emker, a salesman for Matthews Studio Equipment, said he has done business with Levy for 20 years. 

If Eastern closed, "it would really hurt us," Emker said, adding that he would expect "a couple years downturn" for Matthews. 

"I just want to support them," he said, referring to Eastern. "What they've built is remarkable."