The Forest Park Carousel Opens - On Film Only
The Forest Park Carousel Opens - On Film Only
If you are driving along Woodhaven Boulevard and you see lights over by the Forest Park Carousel, don't rush home to get the kids -- it's being used as a set for an upcoming film. Local residents have been hoping to see the Parks Department reopen the 110-year old Carousel (see this NY1 report) for the children of Woodhaven and the surrounding communities for over two years now. Maybe today's activity is a good sign -- we'll see. Please note that we were blocked by private security from entering the Carousel area -- if you head up to the park, they don't even want you walking up the hill, near the fence, and as a result we got some shoddy pictures -- but what we did get provides us with a glimpse inside the Carousel -- and raises some questions.
Here's one taken from Forest Park Drive -- again, they weren't letting us get closer. Please note that they weren't filming today -- just preparing the set for a shoot on a later date.
Here's a better look -- if you look closely, under the string of lights, you can see a white horse's head. BTW, the Carousel was not in motion, and there was no music.
We were told that we couldn't get any closer so we walked around to the other side. No offense to the people working on the set, but I think we've been patient, we're owed a little peek inside, no? Nothing remarkable about this picture below except the overhead neon lights are turned on.
Heh.... here we are on the other side. Ooooh... we're touching the gate! It's a small victory, though, because we still can't see very much inside.
We could see inside the Snack Bar, though -- so whatever they're filming must involve both the Carousel and the Snack Bar. I figured that out all by myself :-)
Another pic of the snack bar -- if you look through the opening of the fence, way in the distance, you'll see the black car with the security guard. I can see him . . . but he can't see us. Stealth!
Another shot of the Snack Bar. In the center of that picture is a big wooden thing. We'll mention that later. At this point, we're sneaking through the woods, between the guard and the Carousel :-)
And here's a picture taken from the entrance to the Carousel. It's the only one I got before the crew came over.
They were nice, but not willing to let us take any pictures at all. The crewmember I spoke to confirmed that they would be filming a movie there. They were very sympathetic when I spoke about the community's efforts to see the Carousel restored, and how much it would mean to them to get a brief glimpse inside. They said we couldn't go in because of insurance reasons. I asked them to take my camera and take pictures and they turned down that offer as well. At that point, the security guard was coming back up the hill towards us and he looked none too pleased that I had pierced his defenses.
Before I left, the crewmember said that they were restoring some of the Carousel for the film shoot.
The whole thing raises a few questions. We're sure these people are very good at their jobs, but are they qualified to perform any restoration work on a 110-year old antique hand-carved Carousel? Have they discussed their restoration plans with the Parks Department? If the film production is paying to use this location, is the money being put aside for the eventual restoration and reopening of the Carousel?
Update: We've been advised that many film productions do not pay -- New York City invites them to promote the city -- makes sense. As for the restorations to the Carousel, we passed this information along to Community Board 9 and they comntacted 20th Century Fox Location Director Hyo Park who "verified that NO "restoration" of any sort is planned to the carousel. The possible exception being: turning the power on, opening the locked roll-down gates . . ."
As for the movie being filmed? Here it is -- these cones are all along Woodhaven Boulevard by the Park --
Update: Here is a sign advising people that Forest Park Drive will be closed from November 2nd through the 9th.
The movie is called The Sitter and it's a loose remake of 1987's Adventures in Babysitting. Seriously. Looks like they'll be filming for a while -- maybe someone will have better luck and get some cool pictures.
If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com .
