Senator Serrano and Members of the Senate Majority Conference Advocate for Performing Arts Funding

Today, Senator José M. Serrano and his colleagues in the Senate Majority Conference sent a letter to the New York Congressional and Senate Delegation in support of targeted funding for the performing arts industry, specifically as provided in the federal Save Our Stages Act, (S. 4258 and H.R. 7806). The bill would give $10 billion in grants to independent venues, including Broadway, over the next six months. The Senators requested that the funding be included in the next federal COVID-19 relief package.

New York City’s entertainment venues and other ticketed events, are among the hardest hit sectors during COVID-19, experiencing 70 percent employment reductions between February and June.

As Chair of the State Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, Senator Serrano led the letter, which would provide relief for theaters, live music venues, and other performing arts spaces so that they are able to survive the next few critical months and retain millions of jobs until it is safe to reopen.

"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been painfully felt across every industry, but performing arts and live venues were among the first to close and will be among the last to reopen," the Senators wrote.

"Performing arts play a critical part of our identity as New Yorkers, they are important economic generators and integral to our fiscal health. New York’s cultural sector is a tremendous draw for tourists from every corner of the world, creating powerful economic multipliers for complementary industries like hotels, restaurants, transportation, and retail.

"The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that arts and cultural production contributed more than $800 billion of economic activity to the US economy in 2016, which equates to 4.3 percent of the nation’s GDP —a larger share of the economy than transportation and agriculture.

"Make no mistake, the arts will play a central role in our economic recovery, as they have so many times before. After September 11th, Broadway, the I LOVE NY Campaign, and the performing arts community were instrumental in bringing people and dollars back to New York. The arts and culture can be a healing force during difficult times, and during the COVID-19 pandemic so many of us have turned to the arts for relief from the harsh realities of the last few months. We cannot abandon an industry that has given so much to so many New Yorkers."

Read the full text of the letter: