arrow A rally outside of Gov. Cuomo s office this week. Invest In Our NY
While New York City and state have announced plans to help restart the embattled arts and culture sector, a coalition of artists is saying that s not enough. Dozens of them, led by the Music Workers Alliance and Invest In Our New York, rallied outside Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Midtown office on Thursday to call for more immediate help.
They re calling for a “new WPA, short for the federal Works Progress Administration, which helped artists of all stripes survive the Great Depression.
One of those attending was Nathaniel Marro, a booking agent for musicians. He cited a state survey estimating that almost two-thirds of the city’s artists are unemployed. But in his circles, he said, unemployment was even higher.
Artists have been begging for pandemic relief for nearly a year. In New York, Gov. Cuomo’s announcement of the NY PopsUp program, a series of free performances headlined by celebrities like Chris Rock and Alec Baldwin, was hardly the answer we’ve been waiting for. In fact, to many of us, it felt like a slap in the face.
Senate Democrats in New York’s capital obstruct GOP’s effort to subpoena records linked to the governor’s nursing home scandal. Republican Sen. Thomas O Mara reacts.
Advocates for independent venue owners and performers ripped New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, arguing his plan to host star-studded pop-up art events to revive the state’s live events industry would not help out-of-work entertainers struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dubbed NY PopsUp, Cuomo’s office described the festival as a pilot program to create the state s first large-scale model for how to bring live performance back safely after this prolonged COVID-related shutdown. The campaign runs from Feb. 20 through Labor Day Weekend and will feature performances by celebrities such as comedian Chris Rock and actor Alec Baldwin.
How The City Plans To Help Its Artists By Anna Lucente Sterling New York City PUBLISHED 7:00 PM ET Jan. 19, 2021 PUBLISHED 7:00 PM EST Jan. 19, 2021
SHARE
NEW YORK Before the pandemic hit, the cultural sector was one of the biggest economic engines in New York City. Theater, dance, fashion, art galleries and more employed nearly 400,000 workers and generated $110 billion in total economic activity.
But on March 16, it all came tumbling down.
When the city shut down, venues closed. People couldn’t congregate. Workers lost their jobs and with that went many artists’ commissions.
“We lost probably 75% of our regular income,” said Karesia Batan, dancer and director of the Queensboro Dance Festival. “That usually comes from sponsorships, online fundraising. People just didn t have the money to give us that they usu
POLITICO
Get the New York Playbook newsletter
Email
Sign Up
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Presented by Opportunities for NY
Andrew Yang makes it official today: He is running for New York City mayor.
As
our Sally Goldenberg reports, the former Democratic presidential candidate will launch his campaign with the promise of cash payments a local version of his universal basic income proposal to half a million New Yorkers. His plan would pay city residents living in poverty between $2,000 and $5,000 per year.