Written Testimonial Letter to the New York City Council Committee on Finance
Hon. Justin Brannan, Chair
Hearing: Oversight-Mayor’s November Financial Plan
Monday, December 11, 2023
Thank you to Chair Brannan and the City Council for your commitment to New Yorkers and support of arts, culture, and arts education across New York City.
My name is Kimberly Olsen, and I am the Executive Director of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. We work with thousands of artists, educators, and cultural organizations each year to improve and advance arts education in NYC. I’m testifying as part of the It Starts with the Arts coalition — calling on our city to prioritize funding for arts in NYC schools and communities.
The creative sector accounts for 13% of the city’s total economic output. 1 out of every $8 in NYC’s economic activity can be traced directly or indirectly to the arts and culture sector. Budget cuts of $17.3 million to the Department of Cultural Affairs and more than $1B to NYC Public Schools jeopardize not only the creative economy but the very fabric of our city’s prosperity and well-being. To stifle this economic engine is to stifle critical services, exacerbate the volatile employment situation for arts workers still recovering from the pandemic, and harm the very heartbeat of our city’s economic growth.
Furthermore, these cuts will have an immediate and long-lasting impact on our city’s young people. Arts and culture provide an essential lifeline of support to New Yorkers of all ages. Engaging students in learning, increasing parent involvement, supporting student mental health, providing safe out-of-school spaces, improving academic outcomes, and boosting student attendance. It all starts with the arts.
Yet, the November Financial Plan has already resulted in arts education program delays and cancellations. This translates to lost work for artists, eliminated arts instruction, and lost opportunity for NYC students to build critical life skills.
These damaging cuts are further compounded by delayed city payments and the expiration of temporary federal COVID-19 relief funds, which has funded considerable arts education programming to support student’s academic recovery and social-emotional wellbeing over the past three school years.
Let us not take it out on our students or their future. And let us not make New York – where culture is a major economic sector with over 400,000 jobs – a place that disregards culture and community as an integral part of our lived experiences. Programs that foster student engagement, tourism, and community rejuvenation should be the last cut, not the first.
With more cuts on the horizon, the additional 5% planned cuts in January would be detrimental to the continued running of these arts and community programs. That’s why the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable also joins over 225 organizations in the #WHY15 campaign to ask for transparency and inclusion in the City’s budget. We call on the City to partner with the nonprofit sector and work toward creative solutions – not hinder us further. The City cannot withstand a 15% cut to its budget, and any additional cuts to the nonprofit sector will only undermine the public safety, health, and cleanliness of New York City.
Our city’s young people represent the future cultural and economic vitality of our city. Please prioritize investment in arts education and in NYC’s future because success starts with the arts.
We’re grateful for the City Council’s diligence and support of New Yorkers. Thank you for your attention and consideration.
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