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Cast members have come and gone, but after 16 seasons, the star of "Law & Order" remains the same: New York City. Exec producer Peter Jankowski credits commissioner Katherine Oliver and the MOFTB with making it possible to film the Gotham-based show entirely on location.

"We don't shoot on the weekends," explains locations manager Moe Bardach, "so we are dependent on the Mayor's Office ... to help coordinate with traffic, crowd control and police assistance."

No matter how complex the idea, the MOFTB "rarely gives a flat-out no," says John Roman, producer of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Office has come through even with seemingly outrageous requests, such as coordinating a daytime chase scene in Times Square or setting fire to a church on 155th Street.

In both cases, the Mayor's Office helped production "dance around traffic,' even allowing the MTA bus to continue its normal route during the church scene.