Guidelines & Permits

Policies and Procedures

The New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA") developments and grounds are private property. Prior permission must be granted by NYCHA's Department of Communications to an individual or production company seeking to videotape, film, or produce still photography on NYCHA property. Please see below for more information.

Location Scouting

All requests to scout on NYCHA sites will need to contact us online. Production companies are allowed to scout rooftop locations as long as they are accompanied by a member of the development staff. If a location scout requests to view any apartment(s), occupied or otherwise, they must be accompanied by a NYCHA staff. An occupied apartment cannot be entered without resident permission.

Letter of Intent

An individual or production company interested in filming on NYCHA property must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) seven (7) to ten (10) business days prior to the intended start date. The LOI must provide a brief synopsis of the story and respond to specific questions concerning the date, time and place of the proposed production. If the Letter of Intent is approved, the individual or production company must obtain a Certificate of General Liability Insurance for an aggregate amount of two million dollars ($2,000,000) before the New York City Housing Authority will issue a Letter Agreement for production on NYCHA property.

The New York City Housing Authority reserves the right to automatically deny approval of any request submitted later than the seven to ten day time constraint.

Certificate of Insurance

A Certificate of Insurance must be emailed to the Department of Communications Film Mailbox with the following: "New York City Housing Authority, 250 Broadway, New York, NY 10007" named as the Additionally Insured. No certificate is accepted without this wording. More information about the Certificate of Insurance guidelines.

Production License Agreement

Provided that the requirements for the Letter of Intent, Certificate of Insurance and, if needed, the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting permit have been satisfied, and the New York City Housing Authority has given its approval, NYCHA then issues a License Agreement to the production company or individual. This License Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions under which the production will take place. It names the NYCHA location(s) being utilized for the production. It also indicates the date(s) and time(s) for the production, and identifies the company or individual being granted permission.

The License Agreement must be signed by the Department of Communications Chief Communications Officer, or designee, on behalf of the New York City Housing Authority as well as by the production company and/or individual. Download a sample License Agreement.

The Department of Communications and the production company and/or individual(s) must maintain executed copies of the Letter Agreement.

Production Guidelines

The New York City Housing Authority provides the following guidelines to be adhered to by the production company before, during and after the production. Read the guidelines.