Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Department of Cultural Affairs

Department of Cultural Affairs

  • Boosting Arts and Access, City’s ‘Open Culture’ Program Set to Become Permanent by Law

    May 25 rally for Open Culture (photo: Edward Amador/Office of Council Member Carlina Rivera) 


    Under legislation passed in May by the New York City Council, the city’s pandemic-era Open Culture program, which allows arts and culture institutions to host events in public outdoor spaces throughout the city, will be renewed and made permanent. The bill,

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  • Keeping the Lights On Off-Broadway: How the City Must Step Up

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    (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Seeing an Off-Broadway play may have saved my life. Joseph Papp gave me my first acting job in 1985, in Shakespeare in the Park, and offered the cast free tickets to Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart” running at The Public, which showed the devastation AIDS wrought on a community forsaken by governments and the press, and its fight to save itself. Seeing the play as a 22-year-old gay man, it scared me into celibacy for a few years, until safer sex guidelines were ingrained in our

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  • The City's Next Steps to Ensure Vibrant, Creative Communities

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    photo via @NYCulture


    Earlier this month, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs announced a promising new program aimed at strengthening cultural organizations in targeted neighborhoods. The initiative, known as Building Community Capacity, was introduced in conjunction with Mayor de Blasio's rezoning proposal in East New York, where the program will be launched.

    The new initiative is

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  • Now Law, New York to Create City Cultural Plan

    BdB Van Bramer Levin

    Mayor de Blasio signs the cultural plan bill into law (photo: @JimmyVanBramer) 


    New York may be the considered the country's cultural capital, but the city has never had a comprehensive plan to outline its immense cultural assets, identify areas of need, and chart a path forward. A new law, passed by the City Council and signed on Monday by Mayor Bill de Blasio, will change that.