Arts, cultural groups will be able to stage outdoor performances in NYC

Arts and cultural organizations will be able to use public street space for performances and events starting in March, thanks to a bill passed in the New York City Council yesterday. 

The legislation, sponsored by Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, would allow artists and institutions that have previously received funding from either the city Department of Cultural Affairs or a borough-based art council to apply for permits to host programming outside. The fee to apply for the permit would be $20 for eligible groups.

The “Open Culture” program would launch on March 1, 2021 and expire about a year later. The city Department of Transportation will be required to create and share a list of spaces that can be used for the initiative at the start of February. The city will also have to create a website with information on open spaces set aside for arts and cultural events, under a complementary bill sponsored by Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo and passed yesterday.

Several arts and culture organizations celebrated the news as a way to help them survive the pandemic, after being particularly hard-hit by closures and event cancellations. Jobs lost in arts, entertainment and recreation made up about one-third of overall nonprofit job losses in October, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies.