Painting a comeback: Gillibrand proposes new aid for arts
BY DEAN MOSES
On Oct. 4, elected offi cials proposed
legislation that they hope
will jumpstart the arts in the Big
Apple, and in turn the economy.
Standing before the doors of the Public
Theater located on 425 Lafayette St., Senators
Kirsten Gillibrand and Brad Hoylman;
Council Member Carlina Rivera; Commissioner
of NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Gonzalo Casals touted the Creative
Economy Revitalization Act. This freshly
introduced bill looks to boost and reinvigorate
the creative economy by generating a
workforce grant program to employ artists
and writers to create publicly available art.
With the arts suffering greatly due to
the COVID-19 pandemic since stage shows
were forced to be halted, theaters could
no longer show fi lms, and museums were
not exhibiting paintings and photographs,
employment fell by 66% in 2020.
Inspired by the Works Progress Administration
(WPA), the Creative Economy
Revitalization Act would create a competitive
workforce grant program and
benefi t both non-profi t and for-profi t
organizations. With New York being
known for its Great White Way and other
iconic, artistic experiences, Gillibrand
asserts the legislation will go a long way
in re-stimulating work for artists through
grants.
“The Creative Economy Revitalization
Act would create a Works Progress Administration
for today’s artists and help reinvigorate
the creative economy by providing
funding opportunities to hire local artists
and writers to create publicly available
art,” Senator Gillibrand said, “It would
make 300 million dollars of grant funding
available to government, non-profi t and
other groups to create everything from free
concert series, dance performances and
photography exhibits to murals, poetry,
plays, and stories. These works would help
us tell the full American story – the arts are
some of our best tools for preserving folk
traditions and highlighting communities
whose narratives have been marginalized
or erased. These projects would help us
reinvigorate the struggling arts sector,
create arts jobs, and make art and culture
accessible to everyone.”
While the pandemic ravaged those from
every walk of life, many attending electeds
drove home the importance of the bill by
Senator Gillibrand announces the Creative Economy Revitalization Act.
reaffi rming just how devastating the novel
coronavirus was to creative individuals.
While restaurant workers could still operate
some form of business through outside
dining, there were very little options for
artists.
“Last year, when creative institutions
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
were ravaged by closures, it was the workers:
musicians, artists, actors, dancers,
stagehands, and so many others that were
hurt the most,” Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney said, adding, “This industry and
these workers need more support and they
need it now.”
Pols hope to set boundaries with Open Restaurants program
City Council candidate Christopher Marte, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick and
Assemblyman Harvey Epstein announcing opposition to the city’s plan to make
Open Restaurants permanent through a zoning text amendment on Oct. 6.
BY MARK HALLUM
The Department of City Planning
approved a text amendment that
will establish a system for registering
Open Restaurants on Oct. 4, and by
Wednesday morning Lower Manhattan
offi cials were laying out their opposition.
Elected offi cials led by Assemblywoman
Deborah Glick and leaders of community
boards want stricter limitations on Open
Restaurants which speakers claim make
neighborhoods less livable in the abating
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
pandemic, especially as sections of Lower
Manhattan have seen the highest number
of applications for the program.
“This is a permanent solution to a temporary
problem, for only one industry – albeit a
very powerful one – and it’s going to create
permanent quality of life problems in our
dense residential neighborhoods,” said Jeannine
Kiely, chair of Manhattan Community
Board 2. “There’s no geographic prohibitions
and that will create huge quality of life
problems… It will also allow open windows
and facades for non-conforming industries
in residential areas. This creates noise and
makes it impossible for people to sleep and
live their lives above bars and restaurants.”
The zoning text amendment will remove
restrictions to where a sidewalk cafe can be
located after the health emergency is declared
over. The Department of Consumer and
Workforce Protection (DCWP) will also be
removed from overseeing the program which
will require legislative change in City Council.
“Open Restaurants helped save thousands
of small businesses from shuttering,
it’s credited with saving 100,000 industry
jobs, and providing New Yorkers the opportunity
to safely socialize while dining
alfresco over a great meal during the
COVID-19 crisis,” said Andrew Rigie,
executive director of the NYC Hospitality
Alliance. “Now as the city transitions
from the temporary, emergency outdoor
dining program to permanent roadway
seating, we commend and look forward
to working with the Department of City
Planning, Department of Transportation,
and community stakeholders in a thoughtful
public engagement process to develop
the permanent Open Restaurants program
that’s standardized, sustainable and transformative
for our city’s streetscape, neighborhoods,
economy and dining culture.”
Siting rules, a fee structure and an application
review process for an entirely new
roadway dining program will need to be
developed as well by a task force, according
to the DCP.
“Getting design right is among the most
important elements of our coming Open
Restaurants program – for our health and
safety, and for our enjoyment of New York
City’s public realm. To get it right, we need
input from the public – you. So please, get involved
and let’s make the Open Restaurants
program even better,” DCP Director Anita
Laremont said in a statement on Monday.
On Oct. 6, demonstrators claimed that
although the DCP and the city Department
of Transportation have virtual and inperson
roundtables planned, there should
never have been a motion within city planning
in the fi rst place without seeking input
from community leaders.
“Mixed-use neighborhoods where people
live directly above these venues, they have
been over-burdened with crowded sidewalks,
excessive refuse, an explosion in
rats, an inability to get deliveries easily or
even take a cab close to home,” Glick said.
Before the text amendment can be fully
implemented, it has to be passed through
City Council which underwent a hearing
with the City Planning Commission. A set
of rules must also be laid out by agencies
through the City Administrative Procedure
Act, or CAPA.
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