On Monday, December 11th, the City Council’s Finance Committee will be hosting an Oversight Hearing on the Mayor’s November 2023 Financial Plan, which included the first round of 5% budget reductions across every mayoral agency. These damaging cuts impact not only the arts, education, and nonprofit sectors but ultimately the students and communities we serve and support.

We are encouraging everyone impacted by these cuts to testify at this upcoming hearing to amplify the need to prioritize arts, culture, and arts education in our city and our city’s budget. 

Those interested in participating can opt to provide two minutes of oral testimony in-person at City Hall or via Zoom. If you are not able to participate live, we strongly encourage submitting written testimony (feel free to use this testimony template to help get you started!). 

Please visit our website for more information about testifying. If you have questions or are interested in testifying in-person, please contact our Executive Director, Kimberly Olsen at kolsen@nycaieroundtable.org. 

I’m Interested, What Next?

The most important thing to do right NOW is register to testify. You must be registered by Friday, December 6 in order to participate live. Written testimony can be submitted up to 72 hours after the hearing (Thursday, December 14).

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