Law Looks to Subsidize Housing for Artists
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…
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
Nice try at sarcasm. I hope that you are not writing plays. Your last sentence needs clarification. Does your primadonna “want” to live in a loft that you will never be able to afford or does the person actually live in a fancy loft and get tax dollars? I don’t know why I’m asking. The voice that you have created for those opposed this kind of spending is so … I’m trying to think of some nice word.
I know that you can walk in another’s shoes. Just try. Opposing this spending is not an anti-art position. Also if you go to any museum or performance you will see that all the evil banks and large corporations fund them and that there are many benevolent wealthy people that also support them financially. Don’t forget that people also pay admission to see plays, dance performanes and to visit museums- so why should all these people spend even more of their money for artists to produce mostly substandard work that needs to be subsidized because no person would ever want to buy it?
I don’t even know anyone who goes to art museums, so why aren’t we redeveloping the Met as a site for light industry?
I especially hate theater and if this grant thing goes down I will be PO’ed if any of MY money goes to those losers who think I want to see their stupid plays. I’ll be damned if my tax dollars are wasted on some leotard-wearing primadonna who wants to live it up in a fancy loft that I couldn’t ever afford no matter how hard I work.
“how fast New York City will be completly devoid of light industry and working craftspeople when the artists recieve subsidies to illegally live in industrially zoned areas.”
Agreed!
I am a manufacturer,(custom furniture,I guess that makes me kinda artistic).After being pushed out of dumbo,I now facing being pushed out of East Williamsberg because “artists” keep “discovering” “blighted” areas zoned for industry.Imagine how fast New York City will be completly devoid of light industry and working craftspeople when the artists recieve subsidies to illegally live in industrially zoned areas.
Please don’t jump down my throat here, but isn’t what makes the “starving artist” so essential to pioneering new areas of NYC the fact they are “starving?” ie. moving to less desirable areas in search of cheap rent, bring their vibrant culture with them?
Geeze, I feel like I’m write a script for a documentary here.
that being said, while I would have loves a $12K grant upon getting out of Pratt (tipping my hand here), living on the “edge” financially (scrimping and saving and barely making the rent) for years made me the artist/creative type who I am today…and a very happy home owner…in a not so trendy place. Yet. (sigh)
The SOHO artist loft experiment was not very successful – why try it again. It is hard to enforce and is unfair to the many who do not qualify. There are other programs out there that artists should apply for like Inclusionary Housing. More developments are now required to provide more affordable housing. The bureaucratic infrastructure is already there, artists just need to apply, I don’t think making a new gov’t giveaway will do much.
I taught my kid to read. Not so hard.Oh and I’ve helped the less fortunate. No training at all.
12:09- A huge number of people are capable of working in those professions.
There is so much crap being made. Someone needs to tell at least half of these artists to throw in the towel.