IN THE NEWS

CULTURAL AFFAIRS BUDGET UPDATE
The Department of Cultural Affairs has confirmed that its budget for FY2006 totals $131.6 million, including $20.3 million for cultural programs and $107.7 million for City-funded institutions. The agency's capital budget is $836.4 million for 161 groups for the next four years.

THE CANDIDATES ON THE ARTS
The Alliance for the Arts has issued a survey asking all candidates for City office in the 2005 elections to respond to five questions on cultural policy. The questions concern the role of City government in New York's cultural life, ranging from funding cultural organizations to promoting arts education and cultural tourism.

The Alliance sent the survey to each of the over 200 candidates running for public office. Based on statements by candidates for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President and City Council Member, the Alliance will publish The Candidates on the Arts: In Their Own Words on August 29. Candidates have been asked to respond to five questions:

1. The expense budget of the Department of Cultural Affairs is currently $132 million. Would you support increasing the budget at least to its historic high--$139 million for 2001-2002 ($153 million in 2005 dollars)?
2. The capital budget now contains $836 million over the next four years for cultural projects. Should the City invest more in its cultural infrastructure?
3. Would you spend more on arts education in the public schools and education programs provided by cultural organizations?
4. How can New York City use the arts to promote economic growth in communities and for the city as a whole?
5. How can New York City attract more cultural tourists?

See chart below for New York City voter registration numbers.

FREE NEW YORK: LISTING SERVICE
New York's cultural organizations and parks have an abundance of free events during the summer. The Alliance for the Arts provides a list of free events on its Web site NYC-ARTS.org. Highlights range from the Seaside Summer Concert series at Asser Levy Park in Brooklyn to the Sunset Jam on the Hudson at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, Manhattan. To view the complete list, click here and select "free events."

HEALTHCARE FOR ARTISTS
ArtistAccess is a new healthcare program which offers affordable healthcare for all New York City-based artists and arts workers. A consortium of arts service organizations and unions--including Dance/NYC, DTW and NYFA--has developed an artist-specific healthcare initiative based at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn as a pilot project. For more information or for an application, visit www.dancenyc.org.

MERGER DISCUSSIONS
The boards of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and the Staten Island Botanical Garden met on July 14, 2005 to discuss the possibility of a merger between the two organizations. Each voted on a resolution to further explore the feasibility of joining the two organizations, pending all legal and state approvals. For more information, visit www.snug-harbor.org or www.sibg.org

WATERFRONT MUSEUM FLOATS AGAIN
This summer the Waterfront Museum, which closed its doors in 2001 to undergo a crucial renovation, has reopened at Pier 44 in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. For more information about the museum and its programs, visit www.waterfrontmuseum.org.

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