In 1970 the Studio was declared "surplus property" by the Army and turned over to the Federal Government. In 1972, the Government offered the property to the City University of New York for use as the campus for LaGuardia Community College. The city budget crisis, however, did not allow the development to occur. Production returned to Astoria in 1975, with the leasing of the Studio for the production of Thieves and, the following year, The Next Man.

In recognition of its historic importance, the Astoria studios were designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Federal Government in 1976. The Studio was formally re-opened in 1977, under the auspices of the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Center Foundation, which acquired a lease for the property from the Government.

In 1982 the title to the Studio was transferred to the City of New York, and in 1982 real estate developer George S. Kaufman in partnership with Alan King, Johnny Carson and others, obtained the lease from the City.