Earlier this week, the New York City Council released their preliminary budget response, which called for baselining $75 million for cultural institutions. In response, Coco Killingsworth, Chair of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) made the following statement:
“Thank you Speaker Adams, Finance Chair Justin Brannan and Culture Chair Carlina Rivera for recognizing cultural institutions as fundamental pillars of New York City in this year’s budget response. Our institutions operate in public facilities for the benefit of all New Yorkers. However, baseline support for CIGs has not increased in over a decade, and our institutions continue to struggle year after year with rising costs. In the response, the Council echoes our call for $75 million in baselined funding which will allow our sector to stabilize and thrive. This funding means jobs for New Yorkers, enhanced public programming, continued critical maintenance of city-owned buildings, and cultural and educational opportunities for our city’s young people. We are so grateful to the Speaker and the entire City Council and look forward to continuing to fight together for #CultureForAll.“