As budget deadline nears, City Council pushes to restore $53M in cultural funding

City lawmakers gathered with arts and museum leaders on Friday to make a final push for Mayor Eric Adams to restore $53 million in funding he cut from cultural institutions, as the deadline to pass the coming year’s city budget looms.

The coalition of City Council members, leaders of several city cultural institutions and advocates rallied outside City Hall to call on the mayor to reverse the cuts. The group also called for the funds to be baselined, meaning the dollars will recur in each subsequent year’s budget.