By Bill Parry
The City Council passed legislation, by a unanimous vote, to enhance access to arts and culture by implementing the city’s first-ever comprehensive cultural plan. The bill is aimed at keeping New York an artist friendly city in a time of skyrocketing rents and a variety of economic pressures.
Under the legislation that was proposed by Cultural Affairs Committee Chairman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and City Councilman Steve Levin, who represents Greenpoint, Williamsburg and several other arts-oriented neighborhoods in Brooklyn, the city will begin to analyze current cultural priorities, determine how different communities are being served and how they propose to improve services and study the condition of cultural organizations in the city today.
“The passage of Introduction 419 solidifies our city’s presence as the world’s premiere destination for culture,” Van Bramer said. “By initiating this five-borough Cultural Plan, we are embarking on an inclusive community engagement process that will empower our cultural community and the least served populations of our city. With the comprehensive data we will acquire from every corner of the city we will implement a strategy to increase access, equity and opportunity for all New Yorkers to engage in the arts and culture.”
Van Bramer and Levin built a coalition of hundreds in the art community to support the Cultural Plan.
“New York City is the cultural capital of the world and it is important that we do everything we can to ensure it stays that way,” Levin said. “The Cultural Plan will create a road map to making New York a more artist-friendly city and ensuring that we are able to exhibit the rich culture found in every borough.
Van Bramer touted the bill at length in March during a town hall meeting in Long Island City. The special guest that evening was Tom Finkelpearl, the former director of the Queens Museum who is now the city Cultural Affairs commissioner. One man in the audience that night said that he had come from Manhattan to listen to Finkelpearl and Van Bramer, whom he likened to former NBA superstars “Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen” on city culture.
“This administration recognizes that the arts are essential to the vibrancy of our communities and the quality of the education we provide our students – that’s why we have launched a number of initiatives dedicated to enhancing cultural equity and access for all New Yorkers,” Finkelpearl said. “We look forward to working with the City Council to formalize this vision of ‘one New York’ as it’s expressed in our cultural community and to seek feedback and new ideas from residents.”
The bill was first introduced in 2013 in response to the lack of cultural planning for New York City but was not well received by the Bloomberg administration. Mayor de Blasio is expected to sign it into law as it contains a component that addresses income inequality.
“In passing this momentous legislation, the Council shows us it is listening to its constituents and that the arts and culture matter to neighborhoods in every council district throughout are city,” Dance/NYC Executive Director Lane Harwell said. “It commits the city to a future where the creative sector is essential, artists are empowered, and the arts truly are for all.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
