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City Council hearing warns arts sector is being priced out as artists, venues decline
Summary
At a New York City Council oversight hearing, the Center for an Urban Future described employment and venue losses tied to an affordability crisis and urged policy steps including artist‑housing preferences, portable benefits, pooled insurance, and a biennial artist survey; DCLA officials and scores of cultural organizations urged cross‑agency action and funding commitments.
The New York City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations held an oversight hearing on affordability in the arts, where policy researchers, city cultural officials and dozens of cultural organizations warned that rising costs are driving artists and cultural organizations out of the city.
"Since 2019 New York has seen an 18.8% decline in dancers, an 8% drop in actors and a 3% decrease in musicians," Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director at the Center for an Urban Future, told the committee, citing the nonprofit’s Creative New York 2025 report. "Taken together, these trends point to a structural shift in the cultural sector that is unlikely to reverse without deliberate policy action."
Dvorkin outlined six priorities he said the City Council could advance: a "city of yes for artists" land‑use package to integrate affordable artist space into rezonings, an artist‑preference standard for affordable housing, a portable benefits pilot for freelancers, pooled insurance purchasing to…
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