Governor Spitzer signed a bill yesterday aimed at helping artists pay for housing, a measure meant to shore up the city’s cultural capital. The bill, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Joan Millman, will give artists two-year grants of up to $12,000 for live-work spaces. “When people want to make it in the arts they come to New York,” said Millman. “Artists come into communities that are rundown and sleazy and bring a life and vibrancy to that community—they are an economic engine and they shouldn’t be overlooked.” Though funding for the program has yet to be hammered out, it will likely provide grants for between 40 and 50 units, and Dumbo is being eyed as a possible location for the housing. As New York continues to hemorrhage artists to cheaper cities like Philly, you gotta wonder whether a bill like this is too little too late. And does it make sense to import artists back into nabes, like Dumbo, that they had a big hand in gentrifying?
Housing Help Slated for Artists [AM New York]
Photo by Escapefromnewyork