By Gus Saltonstall
The city is currently in the closing days of finalizing its budget for the next fiscal year, 2025, and art institutions and groups across the city, including on the Upper West Side, are in danger of losing some funding.
Mayor Eric Adams’ most recently proposed budget restored $7.6 million in previously made cuts to the arts, but the City Council is asking for an additional $53 million to be included in the budget, supporting the more than 1,130 cultural organizations throughout the city.
To put it in context: this amount would be included in a budget that is expected to easily surpass $100 billion.
Additionally, the majority of that extra $53 million in funding would actually come from City Council funds, with the Adams administration only expected to contribute around $18 million.
A loss of funding in the city budget for the arts would not be a first, as the financial support decreased in last year’s budget from $248 million to $241 million. As in 2023, the mayor has continued to point to the migrant crisis as one of the larger reasons for the needed cuts across other sectors in the city.
“New York City’s cultural organizations enrich our communities and are a crucial part of what makes us a world-class city,” said Councilmember Gale Brewer, who also led a rally last week at City Hall against the cuts to the arts. “They play a vital role in our economy by creating jobs, attracting tourism, and increasing economic activity for our local neighborhoods and businesses.”
The Council pointed to the $110 billion that New York City’s cultural economy generates each year, and the more than 15,000 people it employes.
Last week, The New York Times also wrote about the possible loss of funding for the arts in next year’s budget in an article, titled — “For the Price of a Police Helicopter, New York Could Save the Arts.”
The story points out that within the $6 billion the NYPD received in 2024 — a line item included $39.8 million for the purchase of two light twin-engine helicopters — meaning the cost of one police helicopter comes out to roughly the $18 million the Council is asking for the arts.
Here are the Upper West Side art groups and institutions that would be affected if the current version of the proposed budget is passed, according to Brewer’s office.
- Alvin Ailey
- American Museum of Natural History
- ABT
- Aperture (will be in our district)
- Ballet Hispanico
- Carnegie Hall
- Center at West Park
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Inc.
- Children’s Museum of Manhattan
- City Center
- Creative Art Works
- Drag Queen Story Hour NYC, Ltd.
- Film at Lincoln Center
- Inside Broadway
- Jazz at Lincoln Center
- Juilliard School, The
- Kaufman Music Center
- Lincoln Center
- Lincoln Center Theater
- MCC Theater
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Met Opera
- Music Monday
- New Plaza Cinema
- New York African Chorus Ensemble
- New York City Ballet, Inc.
- New York Society for Ethical Culture
- NY Classical Theatre
- NY Historical Society
- Second Stage Theater
- Studio in a School
- Symphony Space
- The Philharmonic Symphony Society of NY
- The Vivian Beaumont Theater
- Theater Development Fund
- Vocal Ease, Inc.
- Young People’s Chorus of New York City, Inc.
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Why are we funding foreign nationals here at the expense of the city we pay taxes to sustain?
This is just utterly absurd.
I think you meant to write “why are we bankrupting the city to fund the NYPD”.
Happy to help!
Get rid of the criminals, get rid of the crime.
Wow.
I believe you mean ‘illegal aliens’.
I’ve never understood what the NYPD actually uses its helicopters for? This isn’t LA where they have high speed car chases on the freeway and need a helicopter to track the vehicles. I always see them coverings over protests, but what does a view from 1,000 feet add to the cops on the ground? This isn’t meant to be a rant against the NYPD, I have just always wondered!
Rescues for one. They even fly to other outlying jurisdictions to save people. They also have an aerial view of crime scenes, fires, explosions, manhunts, etc.
An overview is probably critical in knowing where to place officers and resources, to see crowd movements, etc.
Never mind that – what about the costs for robó dogs and the scrapped robot in time square subway station?
mostly aerial search efforts. They often partner with NY harbor patrol or the coast guard with issues in the rivers, and they have thermogenic cameras to help locate humans from the air
Another budget issue – my understanding is that there is also a huge cut to the Parks Department.
Yet the City is increasing and spending tons on “open streets” as well as the new street restaurant dining program. One example – the City plans to spend $88 million alone ! on the “open street” of 34th Avenue in Queens that was advocated by the bike lobby.
In the meantime, funding for essential parks through NYC and per this article, funding for arts is being cut.
Well, we all have to understand that, size of corruption, lie and cheat in our city gov is hard to comprehend. Just that common sense will give you all picture for the rest.
Don’t give in to the rude, selfish “open streets” people – the term is “closed streets.”
Open streets, yes, to traffic! Ease the flow.
Like ‘open streets’ flea markets that were everywhere when I traveled in South America, merchandise was displayed on sheets on the ground without tables or umbrellas. The people on the street looked exactly like the migrants we are receiving these days.
The city government is changing our lifestyle from one focused on performing arts to one resembling that of the average South American.
migrants cost money. something has to give
Migrants can work but are paid under the table, so no tax is given to the city.
Science, Maths, and History are “the how” we live, The Arts are “the why”. Don’t cut out the “why”
Well said, but they are even more than that.
You can all do something about this.
Please call or write to your congress people and tell them not to cut NYC arts and culture. The government almost always goes after these things when they’re balancing the budget because they assume New Yorkers see them as luxuries and won’t care. Tell them they’re wrong.
The library websites for the New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Library systems are also facing funding cuts and all have petitions on their websites about this issue. Please sign.
https://www.nypl.org/speakout
The city budget has been increasing at above-inflation rates for years. The budget has increased how much it collects from us via property taxes (which are paid by owners and renters) at above inflation rates for years.
The city has a spending problem, and things will need to be cut. We can either have several great programs, or many mediocre programs. I’d rather have fewer government programs that actually work.
Correction to above comment: Congress doesn’t control our arts budget, the Mayor does.
But you can contact your congressional members to tell them how distressed you are that a huge portion of NYC’s arts and culture budget is being threatened because of policies that allowed thousands of undocumented immigrants to end up in NYC without the federal government making up the budget loss to pay to support them.
I am greatly disturbed that the city is potentially cutting the arts budget. This should be a high priority.
That being said, historically the super rich could also step up and help. Rather than buying their fifth home that will sit empty 355 days a year, they can donate to support the arts. There are a number of very philanthropic billionaires, but there are way too many who are not.
I despise the Koch’s politics, but they step up and support the arts and hospitals. Trump, Musk (and many wealthy Democrats as well) do nothing. A few million here and there to support some of these organizations is nothing for them.
Billionaires continue to enjoy their massive tax breaks and “incentive payments” while nonprofits suffer.
Look at how much the Mayor has spent on bike lanes and you’ll know why there’s no money for the arts, libraries or school lunches for the poor. City Hall has been captured by the biker lobby, Citibike, Lyft, GrubHub, Doordash and the rest. They consider these expenditure more important than supporting the arts or culture. The Mayor’s future appears linked to the real estate, tech and financial billionaires who want perks instead of necessities. I rode a bike in NY for 20 years without bike lanes and never had an accident.
Folks you get who you vote for.
https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/243-22/mayor-adams-historic-investment-more-900-million-traffic-safety-turn-the#/0
AND let’s not forget how the bike lobby is literally killing and maiming average pedestrians. The City used to be the most walkable; now it is the least walkable.
Really? No exaggeration here?
This on top of our local libraries. Even Carnegie Hall! CMOM is a sanctuary for kids and parents, especially when school is out.