CULTURAL AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE BUDGET FOR FISCAL 2006
The Executive Budget states:

"The major substantive revision is...that the Executive Budget restores $2.7 million in programmatic funding to the Department of Cultural Affairs. [Note: This figure has been corrected to be $3.1 million.]

The Executive Budget further states "the Department of Cultural Affairs' 2006 Executive Budget provides for operating expenses of $105.4 million, a decrease of $18.5 million from the 2005 forecast. It also provides for City-funded capital commitments of $208.7 million in 2006." (See Ten-year Capital Commitment Plan below.)

Most of the $18.5 million difference between the current Expense Budget and that proposed for next year consists of one-time additions which occurred in the process of adopting the budget last June, either as temporary restorations or as one-time-only enhancements by the Mayor and the City Council.

The proposed budget provides for a total of $101.4 million in programmatic grants to cultural organizations. (The proposed total of $105.4 million includes administrative funds for the agency plus non-City monies.)

As stated in the Executive Budget:

"the City will provide $89.8 million, including $31.0 million in energy subsidies, to the City's 34 Cultural Institutions (CIGs). The City allocation to the cultural institutions will be reduced by a net $11.7 million from the 2005 forecast of $101.5 million. The net reduction is derived by taking the total reduction figure of $19.2 million (which includes $13.8 million in one time funding) and adding in $7.5 million in increases (technical and other adjustments). The budget also continues the $2.0 million supplemental enhancement to institutions added in the January Plan for 2005 and the out-years.
"the City will provide $11.6 million in program grants to various cultural organizations citywide. The City allocation to these cultural programs will be reduced by $6.6 million from the 2005 forecast of $18.3 million. Of this reduction, $5.0 million can be attributed to one time items and other adjustments in 2005. Another $1.2 million is a result of one time restorations in 2005. "the Executive Budget contains $3.9 million in operating funds for the Department."

These reductions equal 11.5 percent for City-owned institutions and 36 percent for cultural programs. As a result, the allocations of grant funds would be 89 percent for the City institutions and 11 percent for programs.

2006-2015 Ten-year Capital Commitment Plan Highlights
American Museum of Natural History $45.7 million
Bronx Zoo $8.1 million
Brooklyn Academy of Music $543,000
Brooklyn Botanic Garden $4.8 million
Brooklyn Children's Museum $5.4 million
Brooklyn Museum of Art $21.8 million
City Center Theater $3.0 million
Guggenheim Museum $2.5 million
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning $3.5 million
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts $205.8 million
Metropolitan Museum of Art $6.4 million
Museum of African Art $3.0 million
Museum of the City of New York $14.8 million
New York Aquarium $40 million
New York Botanical Garden $21 million
New York Hall of Science $12 million
New York Shakespeare Festival $7.4 million
P.S. 1 $4.9 million
Queens Botanical Garden $4.5 million
Queens Museum of Art $24.9 million
Snug Harbor Cultural Center $6.7 million
Snug Harbor Cultural Center for the Staten Island Institute of Arts $5.1 million
Society for the Preservation of Weeksville $10.1 million
Staten Island Historical Society $4.3 million
Staten Island Zoo $14.4 million
TKTS Booth in Times Square $4.1 million
Wave Hill $3.3 million

COMMISSIONER LEVIN TESTIFIES BEFORE CITY COUNCIL
On May 26, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin spoke about the Fiscal 2006 budget to a joint hearing by the City Council Finance and Cultural Affairs committees, saying, "As we go through the adoption process, we hope the cultural budget will be stabilized and increased." (Through the adoption process, the City Council has in past years voted to restore and increase the allocation for the Department of Cultural Affairs.)

HERE ARTS CENTER BUYS LEASED SPACE
HERE Arts Center has announced plans to buy the SoHo space that it has leased since 1993 for $1.7 million. The organization has raised one third of the purchasing costs. For more information on HERE Arts Center, visit www.here.org.

ARTS GROUPS COME TOGETHER TO PURCHASE BUILDING
As reported in Crain's New York Business, four nonprofits that focus on art from different cultures are coming together to purchase a building in Lower Manhattan and create the Center for Art Tradition and Cultural Heritage (CATCH). The project is led by City Lore, the group dedicated to documenting cultural heritage. Other participating organizations are the World Music Institute, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and the Society for the Educational Arts. The groups are planning to raise $8 million and are looking for a 55,000-square-foot space. For more information, visit www.citylore.org.

CALENDAR

2005 DOWNTOWN NYC RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL OPENS
This annual Lower Manhattan "festival of festivals" launched its fourth season on June 1 with the UNparade, a street theater festival featuring performances by a horse and dancers, giant puppets, an accordion marching band, a boombox orchestra and more. This year's River to River boasts 500 events and is a joint effort of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Alliance for Downtown New York, South Street Seaport Marketplace, the World Financial Center Arts & Events Program, the Battery Park City Authority, Battery Parks City Conservancy and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. For a complete listing of River to River events, visit www.rivertoriverny.org.