Saturday, September 12, 2009

Mayor Bloomberg's campaign pays $3,000 to use Queens man's home

Updated Friday, September 11th 2009, 8:53 AM

Why is this man smiling? Tom Auld was paid $3,000 for the use of his Forest Hills, Queens, home as a location for a Mayor Bloomberg re-election campaign ad.
Gabel for News
Why is this man smiling? Tom Auld was paid $3,000 for the use of his Forest Hills, Queens, home as a location for a Mayor Bloomberg re-election campaign ad.

Maybe this is Mayor Bloomberg's plan to out help middle-class homeowners.

Hizzoner wanted a blue-collar house in Queens for his newest TV ad - and paid an eye-popping Manhattan rent to use it Thursday for just seven hours.

Bloomberg's campaign shelled out $3,000 to a Forest Hills homeowner to shoot scenes in the garage, living room and bathroom of his 2-1/2-story, single-family residence on a tree-lined block.

The mayor was a no-show.

But that didn't bother Home Depot employee Tom Auld, who admitted being "shocked" when a film scout told him over the weekend that he wanted to film in the home he has lived in with his wife, Eileen, for 33 years.

"If they ever wanted to come back again, I'd say yes in a heartbeat," a beaming Auld said Thursday as the crews were packing up around 2 p.m.

Auld, 60, wouldn't say how much he was paid. But location scout Robert Chemtob, who was hired by Epand Media to find a working-class home for the mayor's ad, estimated the fee at $3,000.

That would cover all but $597 of Auld's annual property tax bill, according to city Finance Department records.

"We think it's appropriate to pay someone for the inconvenience of turning their home into a production site," said campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker.

Auld was pulling out of his 72nd Road driveway on Friday afternoon when Chemtob approached him about the ad. Auld quickly agreed.

"It's better than a day's pay," said Auld, adding he met the mayor at a St. Patrick's Day parade in the Rockaways a few years ago and supports his campaign.

Chemtob, who knew the area from a RadioShack ad he had coordinated there a year ago, successfully pitched Auld's home to Epand.

"No Parking" flyers were soon posted on trees along the street. They explained the city needed to clear the block from 6 a.m. till 7 p.m. for a project called "Bloomburg 91009" - misspelling the mayor's name.

Crews began filming at Auld's home at 7 a.m. Thursday, covering his valuables in cardboard to protect them from being smacked by camera equipment.

Auld insisted he didn't know the content of the ad.

Chemtob would only say it included a scene with a man singing in the shower. He said the spot is expected to hit airwaves in a few weeks.

With Adam Lisberg

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