New DCA Commissioner

 

I. Tom Finkelpearl, Executive Director of the Queens Museum to become Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs

 

As most of you probably read in the press, on April 7th, Mayor de Blasio appointed Tom Finkelpearl, Executive Director of the Queens Museum, as Commissioner for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the event, which was held at the newly renovated Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Park. The feeling in the room was one of great unity, from small community-based groups to Queens Theater in the Park’s Managing Director Taryn Sacramone, to Arnold Lehman of the Brooklyn Museum. 

Tom turned the renovation of the Queens Museum into an opportunity to transform what it means to be a museum in the 21st Century. In 2006, he hired Naila Rosario, a community organizer who had spearheaded political campaigns, to find out what the Corona community wanted and needed. There are 138 languages spoken in Queens, more than in any other borough of New York City, and more than in any other City in the United States!  By spending seven years deeply engaging with the diverse people and communities of Queens, Finkelpearl changed the paradigm for what it means to be a museum.

Tom Finkelpearl will assume his Commissioner duties in May, and we already have a request out to him, inviting him to a reception at A.R.T./New York’s South Oxford Space where he can meet our diverse and dynamic community!

All of us at A.R.T./New York congratulate Tom Finkelpearl on his appointment, and look forward to working with him.

 

II. City Council Approved Legislation Extending NYC Charter Mandated Dates Related to the City’s Executive Budget

Given the City Council’s actions, the following dates have changed:


III. NYSCA Budget Passes - $35.6M

 

On March 31st, the State Legislature allocated $35.6M in grant funds for NYSCA. $4M of these funds are allocated for the Regional Economic Council grants. While we had hoped for an increase, we are grateful that NYSCA’s funding was not cut. We are also glad that a proposal, which had been inserted into the budget language less than 3 weeks ago, was withdrawn. It read:

“The Senate proposes to redistribute Council on the Arts local assistance grants to achieve regional balance statewide.”

Neither the Assembly nor the State Arts Committee was responsible for this proposal. I joined members of the New York City Arts Coalition in writing my elected officials and protesting this recommendation, pointing out how much it would hurt not only the arts but those industries we support: restaurants, printers, graphic designers, caterers, local stores, etc. Thanks to this effort, this language was taken out, but as arts advocates we need to be aware of the fact that this idea is out there.

Please write thank you notes to Speaker Sheldon Silver, your State Senator and State Assembly Member. Sheldon Silver’s address is:

LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248

To find out the name of the State Senator where you perform regularly or have an office visit: www.nysenate.gov . To find out your State Assemblymember, visit: assembly.state.ny.us.

 

IV. One last request 

Please distribute the survey we sent in a previous Advocacy Alert to every staff member. We are trying to determine how many theater artists/workers live in each of New York City’s 52 City Council Districts. This is very important for advocacy purposes. If each theater would like their individual data, we can work on getting it for you.

Please ask each of your staff members to find out what their City Council voting district is with this tool: http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml

Then have them let us know by completing the A.R.T./New York Member Employee City Council District Survey: https://artny.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_163271

Please do this as soon as possible. 

 
DCA Budget Update and a SPECIAL REQUEST

 

Baseline DCA Budget FY14 Per November Plan

Historically, previous Mayors have presented a preliminary City budget that only includes a portion of the funding required for DCA to operate in the upcoming year; this is commonly known as the “baseline funding” and the remainder of DCA’s funding is restored by the Council and Administration after extensive negotiations. This year, Mayor de Blasio kept the overwhelming majority of Council restorations for DCA in the FY15 Preliminary City budget, thereby increasing the BASELINE from which future DCA budgets will be negotiated.

FY15 DCA Budget Breakdown

City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, who also Chairs the Committee on Cultural Affairs, urged the Agency to appeal for more funding. A.R.T./New York will seek full restoration of $7.9M to the DCA budget in FY15.

IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

While we are thrilled that DCA funding has not been seriously cut, we are dealing with a new City Council, and many of them are anxious to know about the cultural activity in their districts. While there may not be a theatre in every City Council district, we know that our community lives throughout New York City. Each A.R.T./New York member should be able to tell members of the City Council the number of employees (full- and part-time) who live in various Council Districts and Boroughs. And as your representative, A.R.T./New York needs to let each Council member know how many of our members and their staff live in each Council District. This is critical data, and we need you to help us collect it.

Please ask each of your staff members to find out what their City Council voting district is with this tool: http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml

Then have them let us know by completing the A.R.T./New York Member Employee City Council District Survey: https://artny.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_163271

 
Arts on the National Stage Updates

 


I.  Obama Nominates New NEA Chair

On Tuesday, February 12, President Obama announced that he will nominate Jane Chu, President and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (Kansas City, MO) to be the next chair of the National Endowment for the Arts

Chu has led Kansas City's Kauffman Center since 2006. She was an executive at the Kauffman Fund for Kansas City from 2004 to 2006 and VP of external relations for Union Station Kansas City from 2002 to 2004. She also has degrees in visual arts, piano performance and music education. (Johnson, Ted. "Obama Nominates Kansas City Arts Leader for NEA Post." Variety. N.p., 12 Feb. 2014. Web.)

 

II.  Charitable Deductions for 501(c)3

Last November, Ginny visited Washington to advocate that Congress maintain the Charitable Deduction and she recently received a note from Robert Gardner of Senator Schumer's office with some good news:

 

As you probably know, a key provision in the tax code aiding philanthropic organizations expired at the end of 2013--- a provision allowing tax-free distributions from qualifying individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes, known as the IRA charitable rollover (sec. 408(d)(8)).

 

My boss introduced legislation...to eliminate the donation limit and make permanent the IRA charitable rollover. The measure was introduced to show support for the IRA rollover with five bipartisan cosponsors: Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Carl Levin (D-MI), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)...Unfortunately, the Republicans objected to moving forward with a package prior to consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

 

As a result, we now anticipate consideration of the entire package in the Finance Committee early this year. As a potential tax extenders markup approaches, we are asking interested members of the philanthropic community to voice their support for an extension of the IRA rollover. If you would like to weigh in, an endorsement letter or statement speaking to the importance of a timely reinstatement of this provision would be greatly appreciated.

 

Please take a moment to send the message like this to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. Here are their addresses:

 

Senator Charles Schumer                          Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

322 Hart Senate Office Building                 478 Russell

Washington, DC  20510                            Washington, DC  20510

 
New York City Council Appoints New Leadership Positions

 


I.  City Council

On January 22, the NYC City Council voted to approve City Council Committee assignments and City Council Leadership assignments. Assignments are determined by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the members of the NYC Council Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Elections, Chaired by Council Member Brad Lander. For additional information, including a full list of Committee and Leadership assignments, click here.

A list of Council Leadership and information about Committees that may be of particular interest to A.R.T./NY members are highlighted below. Click the names below to find out more about the Council Member and the Council District they represent.

NYC Council Leadership:

Council Member

Council District

Borough

 

Jimmy Van Bramer (Majority Leader)

26

Queens

 

Daniel R. Garodnick

4

Manhattan

 

Vincent Gentile

43

Brooklyn

 

Deborah Rose

49

Staten Island

 

Ritchie Torres

15

Bronx

 

James Vacca

13

Bronx

 

Jumaane D. Williams

45

Brooklyn

 

Brad Lander

39

Brooklyn

 

Vincent Ignizio (Minority Leader)(GOP)

51

Staten Island

 

Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer

Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (Majority Leader)


 

NYC Council Committee on Cultural Affairs:

Council Member

Council District

Borough

Jimmy Van Bramer (Chair)

26

Queens

Elizabeth Crowley

30

Queens

Julissa Ferreras

21

Queens

Peter Koo

20

Queens

Stephen Levin

33

Brooklyn

Andy King

12

Bronx

Costa Constantinides

22

Queens

Laurie Cumbo

35

Brooklyn

Helen Rosenthal

6

Manhattan

 

NYC Council Committee on Finance:

Council Member

Council District

Borough

Julissa Ferreras (Chair)

21

Queens

Ydanis Rodriguez

10

Manhattan

Jimmy Van Bramer

26

Queens

Vanessa L. Gibson

16

Bronx

Robert Cornegy

36

Brooklyn

Laurie Cumbo

35

Brooklyn

Corey Johnson

3

Manhattan

Mark Levine

7

Manhattan

I. Daneek Miller

27

Queens

Helen Rosenthal

6

Manhattan

Vincent Ignizio (GOP)

51

Staten Island

Councilmember Julissa FerrerasCouncil Member Julissa Ferreras
(Chair)


Please take a moment to send a letter of congratulations to Chairman Jimmy Van Bramer for securing his second term as Chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee.

You should also send letters of congratulations to all Cultural Affairs Committee Members. Crowley and King have served on the Committee before; everyone else is new. This is your opportunity to introduce them to your organization. Invite them to your openings and other events.

When writing to Council Member Ferreras, who serves on the Cultural Affairs Committee and will now Chair the Finance Committee, please make a point of congratulating her on becoming Chair of the Finance Committee.  

All letters can be sent to
Honorable __________
NYC Council
250 Broadway
New York, NY 10007

II.  Governor Cuomo Maintains NYSCA Funding at $36 Million
I will update you on next steps in the coming weeks. In the meantime, let's try to make ourselves known to the new City Council Cultural Affairs Committee Members.

 
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Restoration



As you know, July 1, 2013 marked the beginning of the City's Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14). Through much of the spring, A.R.T./New York was busy advocating for full restoration to the budget of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Read the most recent testimony »

In late June, the NYC Council and Administration announced an agreement on the framework for a balanced FY14 Budget. Shortly after the agreement was announced, the City Council voted to formally adopt the City’s $70 billion FY14 Budget.

The City’s FY14 Adopted Budget includes $156.5 million for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), $500,000 more than was allocated to DCA in the City’s Fiscal Year 2013 Adopted Budget. Of the $156.5 million allocated to DCA in the FY14 Adopted Budget, $28.5 million will be given to recipients of DCA’s Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grants. The FY13 Adopted Budget also included approximately $28.5 million for CDF grants. However, due to mid-year budget cuts, the FY13 Budget for CDF grants was reduced to $25 million. The FY14 Adopted Budget restores this cut to CDF grants, bringing the FY14 Adopted Budget’s CDF grant allocation to the same funding level as the FY13 Adopted Budget’s CDF grant allocation.

It is important to note that although the City adopted a balanced budget for FY14, spending shortfalls are projected for future fiscal years. A $1.9 billion shortfall is projected for the City’s next fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2015) and a $1.7 billion shortfall is projected for Fiscal Year 2016.

To address these projected shortfalls, the Mayor is anticipated to require all City Agencies, including DCA, to begin planning for and implementing new budget cuts. The Mayor is expected to announce additional information regarding the new round of cuts this autumn and for cuts to be implemented in early winter. It is unclear what impact, if any these cuts will have on DCA’s Cultural Development Fund.

In addition, all City offices will be up for election in November 2013. The current Mayor and approximately 19 of the 51 current Council Members (including the Speaker of the City Council) will be term limited out of office on December 31, 2013 and are not eligible for re-election to their current offices. As a result, there will be significant changes in City leadership approximately half-way through the City’s FY14 budget. Again, it is unclear what impact, if any these changes will have on the City’s FY14 Budget or DCA.

We will continue to closely monitor the City’s Budget and will send updated information as it becomes available.

 
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