New York City restores $22.6 million in budget cuts to cultural institutions that serve as 'economic engines'

New York City will allocate $22.6 million over the next three fiscal years to institutions that serve as the backbone of the city's cultural scene, restoring money that had been cut in the mayor's January proposed budget, city officials said Monday. 

The announcement was made Monday by Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. The restored funding for the City Department of Cultural Affairs comes after leaders of various cultural institutions complained that Adam's proposed cuts would take away from the economic boost that places like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall give to the city through tourism and jobs. 

“We wholeheartedly thank Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer, and Commissioner Cumbo for the full restoration of the January budget cuts to culture,” Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall said in a news release. “This is a significant step toward making our sector whole this year.”

Among the 34 members of the Cultural Institutions Group that will receive funding are: the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx County Historical Society, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Carnegie Hall, the New York City Ballet, El Museo del Barrio, Flushing Town Hall, Jamaica Center for the Arts, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the Moving Image and a host of other organizations.

“Our people, arts, and culture are the heart and soul of New York City, and they are the cornerstone of our economic rebound,” Adams said in a statement.

The funding includes $18.3 million over the next three fiscal years for members of the Cultural Institutions Group, the mayor's office said, noting that the 34 member institutions operate on city-owned property and serve as “community anchors” and “economic engines” for neighborhoods in “all five boroughs.”

Over the next two fiscal years, $4.3 million in funding is set to go to the Cultural Development Fund, which supports over 1,000 cultural nonprofits across in the city, the Mayor's office said.

In a statement Monday, Adrienne Adams said: “New York City must invest in the success of our cultural institutions if we are to remain the cultural capital of the world — continuing to benefit from the estimated $110 billion in annual activity the cultural economy generates for our city.”

According to the mayor's office, attendance at member institutions increased more than 60% percent in fiscal year 2023 over fiscal year 2021.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”