Downtown cultural institutions share plans to
push forward amidst economic downturn
BY DEAN MOSES
Local tourist sites are pushing
forward despite the
many setbacks caused by
the COVID-19 crisis.
New York City has long been
considered one of the most
popular tourist locations in the
United States, and although
Broadway’s lights hauntingly
remain lit with empty theaters
along with other shuttered attractions,
some museums and
cultural institutions are trudging
through the economic downturn
to provide educational, highquality
exhibitions.
The Alliance for Downtown
New York and LMHQ are hosting
a series of collaborative virtual
events to help shine a light
on Lower Manhattan’s dynamic
institutions. On Dec. 17th, the
organization held its last webinar,
“Building Community through
Culture,” for the year with several
iconic cultural organizations to
discuss how they have overcome
the many obstacles put forth by
the pandemic, and what enthusiasts
can look forward to in the
New Year.
The Alliance for Downtown New York and LMHQ hosted a webinar,
Lower Manhattan: Making Community Through Culture.
“Today’s event feels pretty
crucial considering the city’s
economic climate. Cultural institutions,
whether it is the 911
Museum, the Seaport, or the
soon-to-be Performing Center for
the Arts or LMCC, they are really
the lifeblood of our city, of our
neighborhoods. They are what
makes New York, New York, and
are what makes us special. They
provide us with not just arts and
culture, but I like to think that
they nourish our souls, build
communities, and bring people
to our great city,” said Jessica
Lappin, President of the Alliance
for Downtown New York.
Representatives from the 9/11
Memorial & Museum, Brookfi eld
Place, the Perelman Center for
the Arts, and the South Street
Seaport Museum attended the
conversation. Many of these
cultural centers pivoted their
offerings and outreach to satisfy
digital platforms over the year,
which afforded them a way to
rejuvenate their visions for the
fi xtures they represent.
Historical sites, such as the
South Street Seaport Museum
have been struggling to reopen
since Hurricane Sandy, and just
as they were almost at the fi nish
line–ready to showcase galleries
that were closed because of the
natural disaster in the spring of
2020–the pandemic hit.
Capt. Jonathan Boulware,
President & CEO of South Street
Seaport Museum, shared that the
pandemic not only prevented the
reopening but it was a blow to his
workers’ morale after spending
years rebuilding. The museum’s
budget was cut in half, and they
went from a staff of 100 to just 18
individuals.
Boulware shared the importance
of protecting the way in
which the South Street Seaport
Museum showcases New York’s
transformation from a Dutch
trading site to the Financial
Capital of the World.
“The 19th century trading
structures, and the piers and the
ships that represent the birth of
the city of New York as we know
it. A city that was built on a port,
and the people who came here to
do that,” Boulware said.
Facing a similar issue, Michael
Frazier, Executive Vice President
of External Affairs, 9/11 Memorial
& Museum, has been attempting
to veer from traditional business
practices in order to keep
programs running. This transition
to digital was rather seamless for
Frazier since he had already spent
many years investing in virtual
programming, allowing them to
remain productive and engaging
to audiences remotely.
“Culture is an incredible thing,
but it is something that many
people cannot access. When more
museums and cultural institutions
go online and open up to these
new audiences we are able to
reach people that we never could
before and I think that is incredible,
particularly communities of
color. I think those barriers were
lowered in this pandemic, so that
is a great silver lining for me,”
Frazier said.
Going forward, these leaders
are considering how to provide
continued access to presentations
while also supporting other institutions
together. The pandemic
has halted group tours, which
was a key part of the experience.
In light of this, the 911 Memorial
& Museum worked with another
organization to launch the Family
Pass, allowing a small group of
people from the same household
to enjoy their visit together.
Nearly 500K more COVID-19 vaccine
doses arrive in New York City this week
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
As nursing home staffs
and residents across New
York began receiving
the COVID-19 vaccine Monday,
Governor Andrew Cuomo
delivered the news that nearly
500,000 more doses of the Pfi zer
and Moderna inoculations are on
the way to the Empire State.
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
received approval from the FDA
over the weekend. The fi rst of
the 346,200 doses New York is
receiving in the fi rst phase of vaccination
were due to arrive here
Monday, according to Cuomo.
Meanwhile, New York is on the
verge of getting another 120,000
doses of Pfi zer’s vaccine, which
began being administered to
health care workers a week ago.
Thus far, New York leads the
country in doses administered —
38,000 as of Monday.
COVID-19 vaccines are being
administered to people in
two doses, 21 days apart. Staff
members from pharmacies such
as Walgreens and CVS are providing
doses at nursing homes
over a three-day period, with all
residents and a portion of the staff
receiving them on the fi rst two
days, and all of the staff getting
it on the third day.
After the fi rst doses are administered,
pharmacy staff will
return to the nursing homes in
three weeks’ time to provide the
second shots. Cuomo expects that
the fi rst round of nursing home
shots will be completed in about
two weeks.
“We’re now talking about who’s
Stanislawa Cybulski, 82, a patient at The New Jewish Home
nursing facility, receives the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
vaccine from Walgreens Pharmacist Jessica Sahni in the
Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., December
21, 2020.
getting vaccinated, and let me be
clear: there is no politics in the vaccination
process,”Cuomo said.“We
went through this with COVID
PHOTO BY REUTERS/YUKI IWAMURA
testing, with big shots, celebrities,
and affl uent people getting to the
front of the line. This preferential
treatment in COVID testing
undermines our entire sense of
democracy, equality and a government
that works for all people.
And in this time of COVID where
we’ve seen gross injustices, politics
has nothing to do with it. There’s
no governor, no county executive,
and no mayor who controls the
process, and anyone who says that
is not telling the truth or violating
the law. This is entirely done
by medical professionals and our
hospitals have already vaccinated
more people than any state in the
nation.”
To that end, the governor announced
the launch of the state’s
Vaccine Equity Task Force, which
aims to ensure that the shot is
available to all communities
regardless of status. New York
will also be creating and distributing
community vaccination kits
designed to provide the vaccine
in low-income areas and communities
of color where few health
care facilities or pharmacies are
available.
4 December 24, 2020 Schneps Media