PRELIMINARY BUDGET HEARING FOR THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL AFFAIRS

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's FY 2009 preliminary budget proposes a baseline of $58.5 billion, a reduction of $500 million. As part of the preliminary budget, DCA was instructed to reduce its budget by five percent to $146 million. At a City Council hearing on March 24, Commissioner Kate D. Levin outlined her plan for allocating the cuts in anticipation for the executive budget which would reduce DCA's funding another three percent to $141.7 million, a $12.3 million reduction from its current level. The Cultural Institutions Group will receive a total reduction of $9.9 million from its base of $122 million, and program groups will receive a reduction of $2.2 million from a base of $27.5 million.

The next step in the City's budget process is the publication of the Executive Budget at the end of April, followed by public hearings and the adoption of the final budget by the City Council and the signature by the Mayor in June.

LINCOLN CENTER RENOVATION UPDATE

Lincoln Center is undergoing a major transformation that is currently scheduled to be completed during the 16-acre campus' 50th Anniversary Celebration, beginning in May 2009. While under construction, Lincoln Center will continue to offer thousands of performances and events to over five million patrons and visitors each year. For additional information, please visit www.lincolncenter.org/transforming.

$1 BILLION PLAN SCHEDULED FOR NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

The New York Public Library has announced a $1 billion capital construction and infrastructure development plan that will take five years to complete. The project includes the renovation of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, new branch libraries in northern Manhattan and Staten Island, and expansion of the library's online services. For more information, click here.

APRIL 17 IS POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY

New Yorkers are encouraged to carry a poem with them on Thursday, April 17 and share it with friends, family, co-workers and classmates. Poetry readings and workshops will take place at public schools, senior centers, Rikers Island and the annual open mic poetry program in Bryant Park from 11 am to 3 pm. For more information and events, visit www.poets.org/pocket.

PARIS AND TOKYO DOMINATE WORLD MUSEUM ATTENDANCE

CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION LAUNCHES ONLINE RESOURCE FOR PARENTS
CAE's
online newsletter "Arts Smart Parent Voice" offers news, events and stories for parents of New York City public school children. For more information and to subscribe, click here.

NEW YORK CITY--BEIJING TIES

As the world's attention focuses on Beijing, the home of this summer's Olympic Games, few realize that it is one of New York City's 10 sister cities. The group includes the following, in order of the formalization of ties: Tokyo, Beijing, Madrid, Cairo, Santo Domingo, Rome, Budapest, Jerusalem, London and Johannesburg.

PEOPLE

J. Antonio Quesada has been appointed executive director of the Cultural Institutions Group. He was previously the public affairs manager at Con Edison and has served as the deputy director of Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts.

Katherine Brown was named chief operating officer of WNYC Radio on March 19. She was previously executive director at Jazz at Lincoln Center.