Patchogue has tightened restrictions on filmmakers who want to shoot...

Patchogue has tightened restrictions on filmmakers who want to shoot movies within village boundaries. Above, Patchogue board members preside over the trustee meeting on Monday, April 25, 2016. Credit: Newsday / Deon J. Hampton

Patchogue has tightened restrictions on filmmakers wanting to shoot movies within village boundaries.

Directors, producers and crews must now obtain permits to film in the village, according to a resolution adopted at Monday’s trustee meeting.

“It formally addresses what the permit process would be if a filmmaker was to use the sidewalks and the streets and parking lots, and any impact on the community,” village attorney Brian Egan said after the meeting.

Previously, movie crews were allowed to shoot anywhere in Patchogue without filing for a permit. The only code they faced violating was one that addresses blocking sidewalks.

“It’s a great thing that filmmakers are looking to come into Patchogue,” village trustee Lori Devlin said Tuesday. “But unlike other municipalities, we didn’t have any regulations. It was good to impose some regulations so that we can control things. We needed to have some procedures in place.”

Egan said the resolution was prompted by a handful of inquiries from directors looking to create films.

While restrictions are being added, Mayor Paul Pontieri said shooting movies throughout Patchogue benefits the community, bringing positive exposure and increasing home values.

“It’s great,” the mayor said. “It will show who we are as a community and it will show what we have to offer.”

Parts of the 2009 romantic comedy “Splinterheads” were shot in a parking lot behind Congregational Church on Main Street and in private homes, village officials said. The movie follows a man who works for a carnival and eventually falls in love.

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