Good News! CB3 Arts Task Force Resolution Passed Unanimously March 24th

A resolution composed by the Community Board Arts Task Force that was the result of the CB 1-5 Public Forum on small theatre in NYC & a March 10 Arts Task Force meeting, passed unanimously last evening by Community Board 3, paving the way for other Community Boards to use this language to adopt similar resolutions.

The community board can now bring the resolution to elected officials, requesting further support:

WHEREAS: Arts and Entertainment is one of the largest industries in New York City with the economic impact of non-profit estimated to be $5.8 Billion and 40,460 jobs (NY Alliance for the Arts, 2005);

WHEREAS: Small to mid sized theaters and other arts organizations are an integral part of the Arts & Entertainment industry: A) as an entry point for actors, playwrights, and other artists, B) for the expression and exploration of the diverse culture of New York City communities, C) sites of creativity, experimentation and innovation, D) jobs;

WHEREAS: Small to mid sized theaters and other arts venues are a closely tied to their local neighborhood small businesses, for instance one theater in CB3 had 70 restaurants contribute food to a recent festival;

WHEREAS: Small to mid sized theaters and other arts venues are economic drivers of local neighborhoods, and are a crucial to the cultural and economic resilience and diversity of our neighborhoods;

WHEREAS: A cyclical economic downturn is the TIME TO INVEST in our neighborhood economic drivers and NOT TO DISINVEST in local economic drivers;

WHEREAS: The proposed disinvestment by the City and the State in community based arts may have an adverse multiplier effect on the small businesses and neighborhoods that they are based;

WHEREAS: Foundation funding and government funding are down by 20-40 percent, yet small to mid sized theaters and other non profit arts venues have fixed real estate costs;

WHEREAS: Government funders recommendations to small to mid sized theaters and other arts organizations to cut back on programming in this time of crisis will not work, as programming constituted the revenue for fixed costs and employment;

WHEREAS: CB3 has been a historic incubator and concentration of Off Off Broadway theaters and has lost much of its small theaters in the late 90s and other performing arts venues in the last decade due to real estate competition and speculation, resulting in spaces constructed for performance to be repurposed and irretrievably lost;

WHEREAS: Areas (CB2, CB4, CB5) surrounding CB3 have recently lost 25-30 percent of their small to mid sized theaters in the last five years predominantly due to real estate competition (New York Theatre Innovative Theatre Awards study, Dec 08);

WHEREAS: CB3 remains an important viable center for theater and performing arts;

WHEREAS: There exists innovative policies (land use, tax, public buildings) to sustain and retain theater and other performance venues that other cities and states have successfully used;

WHEREAS: The New York State Assembly member O’Donnell, and NYC Council member Alan Gerson’s office are proposing bills to create a property tax abatement for commercial landlords that rent to non-profit cultural groups;

WHEREAS: CB3 Art Task Force Town Halls, and the recent joint Community Board Forum on small to mid sized theaters have been well attended with extensive expert and public testimony on the loss of theater and arts venues, the importance of theater and arts venues for local communities, and the severe financial crisis hitting small to mid sized theater.

THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED: CB3 calls on its elected officials to acknowledge small to mid sized theaters and other arts organizations to be crucial to the cultural and economic resilience and diversity of our neighborhoods, to recognize the arts as economic drivers and integral to local small neighborhood businesses;

THEREFORE IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED: CB3 call on its elected officials to develop and adopt land use , tax and other governmental incentives and policies to retain and secure theater and other arts and cultural venue spaces and to retain arts and cultural organizations in our district and the City of New York.

THEREFORE IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED: CB3 calls on its elected officials, and the Governor, to act in order to restore the 100 percent funding cut from remaining funds of the New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) for Fiscal Year 2009, to restore NYSCA funding to sustainable levels in Fiscal Year 2010, and not to discriminate against small to mid-sized theaters and arts organizations.

THEREFORE IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED: CB3 calls on its elected representatives of Congress to include small to mid-sized theaters and other arts organizations in job retention and economic stimulus funding, and not to discriminate against the arts and non-profits in urban stabilization, job retention, and other funding and policies assisting other small businesses.

THANK YOU to all who have attended meetings leading up to these events! It's because of our community that our voices were heard loud and clear through these otherwise distracting and difficult times. And THANK YOU to Shay Gines, John Clancy, Paul Nagel and Tamara Greenfield, who all spoke last night in support of CB3's Arts Task Force's recommendations

The next CB3 Arts Task Force Meeting will be April 7th; stay tuned for more information.

Public Forum UPDATES & ACTION ITEMS (FULL CB3 Board meeting TOMORROW!)

In case you're not receiving updates from the Theatre task force, most recent update with action items:

"Thank you for being one of more than 300 activists who attended the
February 17th Community Board Congress on Small to Mid-sized Theaters
and/or have recently asked to be included on this list.

We told you we would take the ideas from that night and work to put the
power of the Community Boards behind them.

That process began on Tuesday, March 10th. The Arts Task Force of
Community Board 3 met at Theater for the New City to discuss the forum and
events that have occurred since that night.

In attendance were approximately 30 outside observers. Invited guest
Caron Atlas kicked off the meeting speaking about opportunities for
combined community organizing and arts advocacy.

The task force drafted and unanimously passed a resolution in support of
our goals. Resolutions are the community boards’ mechanism for formally
conveying their concerns and policy initiatives to elected officials. A
resolution must first be passed by the appropriate committee. It is then
sent to the Executive Committee for comments and tweaking; and a final
resolution is crafted for presentation and vote at the full board’s
monthly meeting.

Action Steps You Can Take:

Come to the CB3 full Board meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
at PS 20 at 166 Essex Street (E Houston & Stanton Streets).

Sign up to speak at Public Session between 6:00-6:30pm. You will be given
approximately 2 minutes in front of the mike.

Submit an impact statement if you were a victim of the NYSCA 2009 100%
funding cuts and bring copies to submit the individual board
members(approximately 40).

This resolution can be used by the other community boards as the basis of
similar letters or resolutions, so that small to mid-sized theaters can be
advocated for on a common basis and at the same time across all affected
Community Boards.

The State Legislature is meeting at the end of this month to specifically
discuss NYSCA Funding and its restoration. They read their mail. Our job
is show them that small to mid-sized theaters demand their support.

If you agree with the idea behind basic resolution (specific wording is
still being worked on by the CB3 Task Force), please considering coming
and showing support at this meeting. And if you were caught in the NYSCA
funding debacle, please consider sending us a one page impact statement
about how your organization was affected.

We will present these to policy makers as a compendium of (anonymous if
requested)documents.

When further resolutions are taken up by the other Community Boards, we
will let you know about those meetings as well.

Thanks again for your interest and support.

David M. Pincus, on behalf of the theater/arts task forces of Community
Boards 1-5."

Check out our resources as well. Hope to see you tomorrow!

OOB's seat at the table

(ed. note: On Tuesday, Feb. 17, a large and impressive theatre community contingent attended the “Community Board Congress on the State of Small to Mid-Sized Theaters – Developing Strategies in this time of Crisis and Opportunity” hosted by NYC Community Boards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. We’ll have more coverage of this coming soon. )

At the Public Forum last night,
while some said there weren’t that many new ideas, I heard something new, very loud and clear:
Our local government is asking for us to help shape the very policy that affects us.
Here are some quotes by various speakers last night:
“Prepare a platform for us”
“Give us the roadmap"
“create a document” [that local government can view as a roadmap and be held accountable to]
“hold us to a higher standard”
and, again,
“give us a roadmap to the product you [expect from government]”

and, perhaps most importantly:
“it’s unbelievable how few people it takes on message to [move] a politician”

What is required to make this happen?

We must be active out in our community government, not just inside our theatres. We are citizens, with the right to representation. But that representation is not going to just happen to us. We have to give local government what they’re asking from us: Our input, our involvement, and our committed effort:

Things to do now:

• Find your local community board. go to the meetings. get to know your board. let them know your needs.
• Find other companies with similar vested interest and band together to lobby local government and support institutions.
• Create documentation and champion it with local government. Make it good, and push, push, push. Then listen, listen, listen. Then respond.
• Actively network with other institutions and support organizations. Let them know what you’re doing. A bunch of good ones were in the room last night, and they can help you connect with more. Communicate.

We have been invited to take a seat at the table. We must fill it with authority, intelligence, cooperation, and responsibility.

Nick Micozzi
Executive Director
New York Innovative Theatre Awards

PUBLIC FORUM UPDATES: what'd we miss?

I am thrilled to hear about the number of people that showed last night, and those of us that ran from set to rehearsal, or waited tables, or typed up meeting notes for our bosses or were stuck in tech owe you a huge thanks for representing the community.

Thank you.

So now, I'd like to call on the community to report back. Let us know your thoughts, questions, concerns: How was it? Do you feel as if anything happened? Did the number of attendees affect anything? Who spoke? How many people were there? It's up to us to keep the momentum going.

I dare you to report first. :)

Good News: A Public Forum on the state of small theater in NYC

You read it right: Manhattan Community Boards one, two, three, four and five are holding a public forum on the state of small theatre in NYC on Tuesday, February 17th at 6:30pm at the historic Player's Club.

From the announcement:

"Manhattan Community Boards One, Two, Three, Four and Five are coming together for an unprecedented joint Public Forum on Small Theaters.

Small theaters are an important part of the sustainability and resilience of small businesses and local economies; small theaters are an economic engine because they encourage residents to spend in their own communities and draw additional audiences from around the City and beyond for early evening activities. On a macro level, small theaters serve as the Research & Development arm of the commercial entertainment industries, locating new talent and acting as incubators for bold new ideas and risk taking. Unfortunately, many of the smaller theaters that bring so much life to our neighborhoods are closing their doors or in danger of closing. The problem is acute. The economic climate, along with the rising cost of real estate are making it difficult for smaller theaters to retain their spaces for performances, rehearsals and offices. With the closing of the Zipper Theater last week in CB4, almost 30 percent of Midtown performance venues have been demolished recently, along with 25 percent of West Village Theaters. In the Nineties, the most of the Lower East Side's theaters were repurposed for bars (e.g. Pianos) or displaced and laid vacant and demolished by speculation (e.g. Present Company and Collective Unconscious). The Community Boards realize that when the theaters leave, the cultural richness and attractiveness of their neighborhoods will diminish, and opportunities for local artists go away.

The goals of the Public Forum on Small Theaters are:
(1) to clearly explain the depth and urgency of the issues facing smaller theaters;
(2) to offer potential solutions based on expert opinion from communities outside of New York where there have been successes, and from experts in New York; and
(3) to gather community support to advocate for changes that will help the theaters and ensure their survival."

If we want our voices heard on this matter, It is important to have a strong presence at this event. This is our community's opportunity to speak directly to the community boards about the issues affecting us.

Here are the details:

PUBLIC FORUM ON THE STATE OF SMALL THEATRES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH AT 6:30 P.M.
at
THE PLAYERS CLUB
16 Gramercy Park South

For further information: david@workshoptheater.org

DIRECTIONS:

Please Note:
East 20th Street between Park Avenue South and Third Avenue has been
renamed Gramercy Park South.

Subway
to Union Square, walk up Park Avenue South to East 20th Street and
turn right to 23rd Street, walk down Park Avenue South to East 20th Street and
turn left to Broadway and 23rd Street, walk on 23rd Street to Park Avenue, walk down Park Avenue to East 20th Street and turn left

Thoughts on Presidential plans for the Arts, contributed by Shay

Presidential Plans for the Arts

President Barack Obama is the first-ever president to enter office with a platform and plan for the arts. His website claims that he "uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression." This is an exciting change for the arts. His eight-point plan includes a promise to set an example on how to appreciate the arts, more money for the arts and his "arts corps" and agenda to "expand public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations" resonates his overall theme of service. All of this bodes well for the Off-Off-Broadway community.

However even more than a general awareness and appreciation of the arts, there are two points in his plan that I think will have the largest and most direct impact on our community.

Provide Health Care to Artists: Finding affordable healthcare for independent artists who don't always have a regular employer/regular employment has not always been easy. Anyone paying attention to the campaign knows that President Obama's plan is to create and make available a subsidy healthcare plan similar to the one that Federal employees now have. Will this make it possible for many OOB artists to spend more time working on their art and less time chained to a "day job?"

Ensure Tax Fairness for Artists: This is the one I find really interesting. This will allow artists to deduct (at fair market value) hours of time volunteered from their taxes...... This may mean a whole new game for OOB. How will Equity codes be affected by this? A very interesting proposal.

What are your thoughts?

Go here to see the outline of Barack Obama's plan for the arts.

Also if you haven't heard, Quincy Jones has started a petition to ask President-Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. This would be a Cabinet-level position that would oversee several federal agencies including the NEA. While many other countries have Ministers of Art or Culture but the United States has never created such a position.

Elizabeth Blair from NPR discusses the Secretary of the Arts here.

What do you think? Do you think a Secretary of the Arts would benefit us or do you agree with David Smith?

Go here to sign the petition.

Shay Gines