nyc.locationscout.us

The nyc.locationscout.us header photograph (also shown below) depicts part of the elevated roadway section of the Brooklyn – Queens Expressway (BQE or I-278) from ground level along northern Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn that follows underneath the route of the BQE for a distance as they both snake thru Brooklyn, NY.

As its name suggests, the BQE is an expressway that connects the New York City boroughs (or “boros”) of Brooklyn and Queens.

On a recent location scouting assignment that included the adventure of driving multiple times all over many sections of Brooklyn and Queens, while passing by the area shown (as well as other sections of the BQE viewable from underneath), I was somehow taken the by the graphic juxtaposition of the graceful curve(s) of the road the BQE creates as it meanders along overhead and enormity of the trusses against the general grittiness and otherwise nondescript “ordinariness” of the many industrial areas underneath the BQE.* For me, the drizzly, gray, overcast day adds to the moodiness and melancholy – but I would love to have an opportunity to go back on a clear day, maybe a very late afternoon or early morning – maybe there are long streaks of sunlight that come streaming thru the trusses and create patterns of light and shadow on the environment below?

*The necessary cropping of the header photo from the original does little highlight these features – I believe the original composition illustrates it much better, so the original is included below:

Click either image for a better view
The BQE roadway up top is what you would expect on a major thoroughfare thru a very large city – multiple lanes and possible potholes, not as rough as that icon of bad road, BQE’s evil sister, the Cross Bronx Expressway – at various times traffic (usually) moving at a brisk pace, during which there will be the usual hot-doggers and tail-gaters, other times slowed to a crawl such as in the thick of weekday rush hours, accidents, construction or “police activity”. …lots of photos taken along the BQE…

From a location scout’s or a filmmaker’s point of view, my synopsis of the BQE would be, “urban, gritty, iconic New York City outer boros or ‘Manhattan-from-a-distance’ (some very impressive skyline views of Manhattan can be experienced while travelling on the elevated sections of the BQE…)”; you see more rooftops of 3-4 story buildings typical of many residential areas of New York City (which, if you didn’t know, includes the 5 boros of Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island…) than you can shake a stick at – ..”tar beaches“, boiler / furnace vents, all manner of rickety – looking tv antennae of every size cocked at every angle, satellite dishes, power and telephone wires, items tossed onto the roofs and forgotten about: shoes, soft drink cans / bottles, items of clothing, balls, etc… all of course covered with layers of soot and grime from oil furnaces and the daily exhaust of thousands of automobiles and trucks passing by…

From a production logistics point of view, other than low or non-impact vehicle-to-vehicle “running shots” or vehicle-to-environment (typically establishing shots or b-roll), actually filming on the BQE would seem to be a proposition that, while not necessarily impossible would likely be met initially with some hesitance by the many entities likely to be required to cooperate and assist, all the way from U.S. Department of Transportation (the BQE (I-278) is a spur of interstate highway I-78 and therefore under federal jurisdiction…) to likely the New York State Department of Transportation, New York City Department of Transportation, New York State Police, definitely the New York State Film Office, New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcast (MOFTB) and probably New York City Police Department Special Operations / TV / Movie Unit (if for no other reason than to possibly coordinate local traffic on city streets with regard to exits / on-ramps to / from the BQE on-ramp / exit ramps to / from local city streets). …and this is probably not a complete list…

If allowed at all, filming would likely be required to occur on a day or night of lowest anticipated vehicle traffic and impact on day-to-day normal activity, i.e. perhaps a very early Sunday morning or “apres” hours late evening and filming would likely need to be coordinated to allow one or more lanes of traffic to be either open at all times or quickly opened as needed so as to allow traffic to pass thru or around the set periodically – no filmmaker, photographer, producer or location manager should ever dream they are going to completely “own” a stretch of high volume interstate / inner city expressway for any extended length of time.

Suggestion: allow plenty of lead time for preproduction – expect lots of film permits and paperwork, hire the best location manager and location scouts you can find, be prepared to make lots of concessions in the interest of the welfare of the general public… and – oh, yeah… – bring a checkbook

At least one feature film is mentioned prominently as featuring the BQE – 1990’s Quick Change:

…via Wikipedia: Brooklyn – Queens Expressway…

“Motorists may encounter difficulity finding an entrance onto the BQE from Brooklyn side streets, as illustrated in the 1990 movie, Quick Change, starring Bill Murray. Murray and his cohorts escape from their Manhattan bank robbery in their getaway car, only to take the wrong turn from the BQE — they are unable to get back on. Murray finds a sign reading “To I-278,” but the arrow at the bottom of the sign rotates around, and around. The Brooklyn Queens Expressway is infamous for rush hour traffic congestion.”

Original graphic from Wikimedia Commons

Additional Linkage:

Flickr Photo Search: “Brooklyn Queens Expressway”

BQE Watch Blog

BQE at Gowanus Lounge

Bridge and Tunnel Club

Old NYC BQE in DUMBO Virtual Tour

BQE at StreetsBlog

Google Search using terms “Brooklyn – Queens Expressway” and “film location”

Flickr Slideshow – BQE

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