“New York City-icity”. New York and The Office

Hi, Kevin here. A few weeks back (maybe more) I asked Bob if I could do a New York version of his great column “Scrantonicity”. Since I am from New York and I love when they show the Dunder-Mifflin headquarters in the show, it would be a natural. Bob agreed and I started writing.

Then I got busy and sidetracked (and lazy). After a lot of research it sat there, unfinished. But then yesterday, I got an email from Bob, asking me to finish it up and post it. He was looking forward to it and he thought it could be fun. I got mad at myself. I’d let it slip. Well, because of Bob’s cajoling (or ass-kicking, depending on how you wish to phrase it), I said “Screw it!” and banged it out (TWSS). So here is the very first “New York City-icity”, reviewing how the Big Apple has appeared in The Office.

Early on in the shows history, we got mention of New York but no visuals. That is until the second season episode “Valentines Day”, where we see Michael walking the streets of Manhattan, which is somewhat frightening. They do a funny little bit that is something of an inside joke to New Yorkers; Michael gets confused as to which way is east and which way is west. This is a mistake that is commonly made by infrequent visitors and tourists. When you come out of a train it can be very confusing as to which direction you are headed. Also, to add to the confusion, a lot of people don’t know that 5th Ave. is the dividing line of “East” and “West” in New York, from Washington Square Park all the way up to 142nd St. It is also where address numbers begin for either side, so you have both a 20 West 34th St. and a 20 East 34th St., for example. This confounds people to no end. The street signs will say W. 34th or E. 34th but people almost never pay attention to the “E” or “W” on street signs. I cannot tell you how many times someone has asked me which way 7th Ave. is or, better yet, where can they find a particular street address. When I ask “East or West?” it’s picture worthy, the look of confusion on their faces.

Then they have one of my favorite bits in the episode, the whole dopey thing about the “New York” pizza of Sbarro’s, which is still located right at that corner ( I believe. Hmmmm.). I hate Sbarro’s, which is probably why I find that so amusing.

Michael visits Times Square, which he says is named that because “of the good times you have there”. That, as you probably know, is incorrect. It is called Times Square because it was named after the Times Building, where the New Years ball is dropped and originally the home of The New York Times. As you can imagine, I have been through Times Square thousands of times, ranging from it’s skanky, dirty, somewhat dangerous era from my youth (which I prefer) to it’s current clean, antiseptic, touristy incarnation (which I don’t much care for; a person I know called the area a “Theme Park” which is a very funny description of it). I have never been in Times Square on New Years Eve. I think that’s insane to stand out there with all those people in the cold watching a ball slowly drop. My brother went once and got his wallet pickpocketed. That’ll learn him.

Later in the episode, we see Michael heading down the stairs at the 49th St. train station. This, in the context of where Michael ends up later, makes no sense at all. This train station is about three blocks from where Dunder-Miflin is proposed to be, but it’s a good gag, so I let it go. My wife works two blocks from that stop and a few blocks as well from 30 Rock, where Michael thinks he sees Tina Fey (coincidentally, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey will co-star in “Date Night”, which comes out next year). If there were a bum “pooping in a box” down in that subway, cops would be all over him in a matter of minutes, as that is a pretty nice part of town and the whole underground area there has a lot of stores and businesses. That would be one unhappy and, presumably, unwiped bum.

Later still we see Michael sitting in front of a building, by a large fountain, sort of getting his game face on (I guess). This building is 1251 6th Ave., between 49th and 50th Streets. Directly behind the camera on the left is Radio City Music Hall. On the right and another block up, is where my wife works and has worked for quite some time. I like that part of town a lot. You’re about 7 blocks from Central Park and a block over from 5th Ave. where there is some of the most expensive shopping in the world. You are right near the theater district and great restaurants. It’s cool being up there, as it makes me feel like I have money. : ) That’s one thing I love about New York, everything is open to you and you can walk or take a cab right to it.

Now, you would assume that since Michael is sitting there, that this is where Dunder-Mifflin is headquartered. BUT, when we see Michael doing a talking head in a building lobby, you can see that the address of the building he’s in is 1230 6th Ave., which is diagonally across the street. Hm. Ok. So… maybe Michael sat across the street and then went over to where DM really is. And that is an acceptable premise, until you get to the third season finale/gamechanger “The Job”.

In “The Job”, the New York stuff doesn’t start until you get to the second to last act of the episode but, boy, did they ever hit you with a lot of NYC. I was thrilled to see my hometown so highlighted in one of my favorite shows (it doesn’t happen that much. The Law and Order shows do a great job of it, and “30 Rock” as well, but that’s about it). Another thing I loved about it is that they didn’t hit all the “touristy” areas but shot in lesser known spots. We see Jim and Karen come out of the Astor Street subway station, which is right near Broadway and 8th St. In high school and college, I spent a lot of time in that area. From that spot you are seconds from great shopping, trendy, unusual stores and big-time hangin’ out. You are near “Alphabet City”, the part of town where it’s all Avenues A, B, C, etc, and the infamous Tompkins Square Park, which was a huge drug area (and still is, just less so). There is a large cube sculpture right behind the station that people hang out at and skateboarders zip around. Also, it is across the street from a school called The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, which my best friend and I applied to. Cooper Union is a very interesting school in that it does not charge tuition so, as a result, they have exceptionally high standards. Needless to say, my friend and I did not attend Cooper Union.

Later we see Jim and Karen crossing the street in an area called “The Meatpacking District” which, in an odd and somewhat humorous coincidence, has a large gay populace and a history of transexual prostitutes. The Meatpacking District is a spot on the west side of Manhattan that runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. In the early 1900’s it was home to 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants and some still operate there today. The Meatpacking District has a great many restaurants, high fashion boutiques and a brimming nightlife, and a lot of the blocks still have the cobblestones (and deeply embedded train tracks) that were there from over a century ago.

Then, in the last act, when the interviews/insanity starts, we are presented with an establishing shot of the New York Hilton, which is on 6th Ave. between 53rd and 54th. The camera sweeps across 54th and focuses on a building on that corner, which is 1345 6th. Ave. and is about 5 blocks uptown from where Michael did his lobby Talking Head. Ok. Maybe in the 15 months between “Valentines Day” and “The Job” DM moved. It happens. BUT, later, during Pam’s classic closing Talking Head, we see Jim leaving a building that has the address 1330 6th Ave. which is across the street and diagonal from the establishing shot. Wow. No wonder DM is in such financial trouble. They actually moved DURING the episode.

No doubt there were many considerations when they filmed these eps, like what the building looked like from the outside (actually, the outside of 1330 has been completely remodeled since that episode) and what was easier to set up at. And until I really started researching it, I didn’t even realize how many different locations they shot for the DM offices. No one would really notice that. But, I thought you might find it fun to see what they did in terms of location shooting. I’m just glad they actually shot it here, as opposed to later seasons.

In the 5th season episode “Baby Shower ‘, we see Pam at a laundromat in Brooklyn. I am from Brooklyn and lived there for 34 years. I have never, ever seen a laundromat, or a surrounding area there that looks even remotely like the one Pam was in, especially near Pratt Institute. Ditto, in “Business Trip”, the spot in where she tells Jim over the phone that she will have to stay to retake a class. I doubt you could find anyone from Brooklyn that would say those backgrounds looked authentic. On a side note, my friend and I were actually accepted by Pratt Institute but since we had been going to high school in Manhattan and didn’t want to change that, we decided to attend The School of Visual Arts, where I met my wife. So win/win.

Later on in the 5th season, in “The Duel”, they do something that is very unusual and almost convincing. Almost. They use the same establishing shot they used in “The Job” for Michael’s visit to corporate, But, at the end, when Michael is outside, they give us a shot of Michael in front of the building. Now, this time, they actually get the location right. This is the front of 1345 6th Ave. the actual building shown in the establishing shot. What? That’s crazy talk! They got it right. But now, for the caveat.

For a split second you say “Wow, they actually flew Steve Carrell out to New York for that? No way!” And you would be right. Because, if you look close enough, you’ll notice that the lighting doesn’t quite match up. Very difficult to match interior and exterior lighting. Yep. Blue screen (or green or orange or whatever color they went with. Every one has a different notion). Mr. Carrell never left the comfort of California for that shot and they manage to fool you for about 5 seconds. But, I will take that over the visual crimes they perpetrated in “Shareholder Meeting” a few weeks ago.

Oh boy. Where to start. Ok. First of all, the hotel lobby. One thing I must stress is that, because of the way New York is built and being on the East coast instead of the West, there is no way to make California look like New York. No way. The lighting is just completely different. It is almost impossible to have a hotel lobby, like the one shown in this episode, flooded with sunlight in Manhattan. It just cannot happen. New York, because of its size constraints, is built vertically so, as a result, it is very difficult to have street level sunlight like that in Manhattan, unless it is high noon. Tall buildings refract and block the light so that you get a blue/gray/yellow ambience that you cannot fully understand unless you have been here for awhile. Today, I had to meet my wife and I walked up 8th Ave. (I thought she would be coming down that way) before I changed course and stood in front of Bryant Park on 6th Ave. and 42nd. That spot is the ONLY spot where I was actually in sunlight and I was appreciative, as it is cold here today. The ONLY spot in the 12 blocks I walked. And that’s because Bryant Park takes up a whole block and has no buildings in it, thus letting the sun to shine in (Wow, I just paraphrased Pebbles Flintstone. If you get that, you’re cool in my book). So when I see shots like that, I just shake my head.

And then we have the limo ride home. Oh my God. Wrong in so many ways. No street in Manhattan has street signs like that, the ones that stretch halfway across the street. You know, like the ones in CALIFORNIA. And that is the widest street in New York history. The widest street here are, at best, probably 50 or 60 feet across. And that’s only because they have islands in the middle. And then, in the very last shot, they try to keep the camera low so as not to see the mountains and palm trees ( but you can still tell it ain’t New York). Fail.

I know that the budget for filming in New York must be astronomical. I can’t imagine. But I get down when I see how they try to fool the audience with these shots. And I’m sure, only people in New York noticed. Oh well. I still love you Office and I wait patiently for the day when you grace my hometown with your funny, witty presence again. There is a thrill to seeing my favorite characters here that cannot be faked. Hopefully, there will be another episode where the actual New York is seen. And if or when there is, I’ll have another “New York City-icity”for you!