New York mayor Zohran Mamdani made his way to a Brooklyn soundstage facility on Thursday to unveil his latest appointment, the new leader of the city’s film office.
Rafael Espinal, who has recently led the Freelancer’s Union for the last five years, has been tapped to lead the Mamdani administration’s Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), which coordinates with labor unions and studio production in the city.
“How do we make it easier for artists who are already here to act upon their imagination?” Mamdani prefaced, holding court at Samson Stages alongside local officials and labor advocates. The Mayor described Espinal as an official who would help “bridge the worlds of arts and politics” and framed the pick as part of his affordability agenda.
Espinal, formerly a member of the State Assembly and a member of the New York City Council, will succeed Pat Kaufman as commissioner of MOME. He previously partnered with the media and entertainment office on the Freelancers Hub initiative, a coworking space in Industry City.
Like California, New York state has also seen production spend declines as studio slates have contracted. While New York saw a 17 percent year-over-year in TV and movie shoot count in the third quarter of 2025, production spend also fell 32 percent to $849 million in the quarter, per industry tracker ProdPro.
More to come.
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