Levin calls on city to develop a ‘cultural plan’
“Art isn’t easy,” is the lyric from a number in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Sunday in the Park with George,” about the artist George Seurat’s struggles with creativity and commerce.
City Council members Stephen Levin (D-Greenpoint-Williamsburg) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Woodside-Sunnyside) would probably agree with Sondheim. Art isn’t easy, especially for those who live and work in New York City.
Levin and Van Bramer have jointly introduced a bill aimed at making life easier for the city’s artists. Van Bramer is chairman of the council’s Cultural Affairs Committee.
Under the proposed legislation, New York City would be required to establish a cultural plan. The bill calls on the city to analyze its current cultural priorities, determine how different communities are being served and develop proposals to improve these services, study the condition of artists in the city today, and plan how the city can remain an artist friendly place in a time of skyrocketing rents and other economic pressures.