By Bill Parry
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed $82.2 billion executive budget underfunds the city’s cultural organizations, according to more than a dozen City Council members from Queens and other boroughs, who rallied on the steps of City Hall last week.
The group called for an increase of $40 million in additional operating funds, to be split evenly between the Cultural Institutions Group and the Cultural Programs Group, which include many neighborhood-based cultural organizations.
“Every child, in every neighborhood, deserves access to arts and culture,” City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), the chairman of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, said at the May 19 rally. “Arts and culture bring so much to our city. They spur the economy, attract tourists, educate our children, connect us to our heritage, and inspire our imaginations. Cultural organizations do all of this, despite declining support from the city, state and federal government. It’s time for us to give back to these organizations that make New York the vibrant, creative city it is.”
Funding for arts and culture has remained essentially flat since 2008, the Council members say, while the number of visitors to cultural organizations has increased. More than 25 million tourists visit the city’s cultural attractions each year, up from 19 million in 2002 and the creative sector accounts for seven percent of the city’s jobs.
“New York City is one of the art and culture capitals of the world,” Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) said. “It is imperative that residents throughout the five boroughs have access to first-rate cultural programs that our city has to offer. The demand for cultural programs has clearly expanded and so should the funding.”
The mayor’s executive budget, released last month, includes $144 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs, less than last year’s due to reductions in energy costs and other technical adjustments. The Council is currently in negotiations with the administration with an agreement expected next month.
Organizations have more than doubled in the outer boroughs between 2005 and 2015 while the National Endowment for the Arts dropped 15 percent in inflation-adjusted numbers between 2003 and 2013, and the New York State Council on the Arts funding has decreased by 37 percent in inflation adjusted numbers. The Council members argue that additional funding would help organizations keep up with growing demand, due in part to the city’s municipal ID program,
Nearly 400,000 free memberships have been redeemed by IDNYC cardholders.
“Our city’s strength is in our cultural diversity,” Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) said. “That’s why it is important that we invest in cultural organizations that reflect our communities, Our cultural institutions connect all New Yorkers to the arts, as well as encourage tourism and job growth.”
Organizations have more than doubled in the outer borough between 2005 and 2015 while the National Endowment for the Arts dropped 15 percent in inflation-adjusted numbers between 2003 and 2013, and the New York State Council on the Arts funding has decreased by 37 percent in inflation-adjusted numbers.
“If we are to live healthy and fulfilling lives, we must take time to appreciate the arts and culture,” Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) said. “Without culture and the arts, we are like bodies without souls. As residents of the arts and culture capital of the world, New Yorkers cannot afford to neglect this important part of our livelihood.”
In Queens, institutions such as the Queens Museum, MoMA PS1 and Flushing Town Hall would benefit from increased funding.
“Access to the arts is personal for the seniors who sing and dance together, who are healthier for the socially joyful interaction. It’s personal to all of the parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who want for the next generation to be creative and happy sharing performances, paintings, songs and stories passed down. Access to the arts happens where we live, walk, work and gather,” Sheila Lewandowski, the executive director of the Chocolate Factory Theater, said.
“As a city, we cannot take for granted that artists will just keep breathing life into our city and that the places we gather to share arts and culture can survive without our collective support. As a citizen of NYC, I demand that we increase the cultural budget as we increase the budget, or this city will lose all that is unique and special.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
