CITY ANNOUNCES RESTORATION PACKAGE

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced a $90.2 million restoration package for vital city services. The restorations included $9.7 million for the Department of Cultural Affairs.

In the press conference held yesterday at City Hall, the Mayor stated, "We need to encourage the arts in this city...cultural institutions make the difference between a real civilization and just a place to live. It is also a great generator of economic activity in this city...People that come from around the world to visit New York and spend their dollars go to cultural institutions, and we cannot walk away from them."

As of this writing, the details of how the restoration would be applied to cultural organizations had not been finalized.

The Alliance would like to commend the Mayor and Commissioner Kate Levin for taking this important step toward lessening the impact of the budget crisis of the cultural community. This action not only recognizes the importance of the arts to rebuilding the city but the depth of public support for the cultural organizations throughout the city.

The Alliance encourages the Mayor and the City Council to work together in securing further restoration of the cultural budget in the final stages of budget discussions in the next several days.

Article in today's New York Times regarding the restoration.