Law and Order SVU Filming Comes to New Rochelle

By Annie Gombiner

Christmas decorations lined the front yards of houses on New Rochelle’s Elk Avenue, right across from NRHS, this October. The wreaths and blow-up Santas were not some early Halloween prank, but instead, props for the filming of an episode of Law and Order SVU. 

Filming for the episode, set to air on December 7, lasted four days, with prep work beginning on Tuesday, October 18. 

Law and Order SVU is set mainly in Manhattan, so Westchester offers easy access for suburban sets. According to a crew member on the set, “New York City suburbs provide a slice of American life and allow us to stay local to our production. If we have an episode where the characters need to drive to Connecticut or Vermont, we can pretend that this is that.” He added, “We wanted to find a ‘Home Alone-y’ house for this particular episode.”

Cars and trailers from the filming parked all along the surrounding streets, but there seemed to be no complaints. Sergeant Wilson of the New Rochelle Police Department noted, “People generally welcome the filming - it validates their choice of home. I’ve never heard a complaint.”

In fact, several people stopped to watch the filming over the week. A group huddled outside on the afternoon of October 21, trying to catch a glimpse of the actors, even though most of the filming was happening inside of houses on Elk. Annie, a mother of two young children, explained, “I wanted to bring my two kids to see what it looks like when someone is making a TV show.” Many of the other viewers shared her sentiments. 

New Rochelle seems to be a popular spot for filming. Several other episodes of Law and Order SVU have been filmed in the area. Elk itself has also attracted other films, with some filming for the 2019 movie Hustlers on that same street. 

The only hitch may be the fall foliage that dominated the trees at the time of filming. Those red and orange hues may look out of place in a Christmas episode, but will probably be edited out in post production.