Council Member Mark Levine outlined a plan to fund the arts in NYC to support the COVID-19 recovery process, if elected Manhattan Borough President.
On Saturday, the St. James Theater became the first venue to welcome audience members after more than a year of shuttered doors with a performance starring Nathan Lane for frontline workers. It was the first of 10 small pop-up shows to test the waters on safely welcoming theatergoers during a pandemic.
Plays, musicals, and operas have always been synonymous with New York City as we know it and Council Member Mark Levine agrees, believing the arts to be instrumental with aiding in the big apple’s economic restoration. Many businesses took a hard economic hit during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but art-based hubs like Broadway, which support tourism, have often been overlooked. If elected as Manhattan Borough President, Levine has told amNewYork Metro that he plans to dramatically increase funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs from .02% to at least 1% of the city’s budget. All of these funds will be utilized to install HVAC systems to these theaters, many of which are housed in buildings that are over one hundred years old.
