Dear New Yorker:

We are writing to report on New York City's allocations to cultural affairs in the FY 2016 Adopted Budget.

The FY 2016 Adopted Budget allocates a total of $165.3 million to the Department of Cultural Affairs. This reflects an increase of $8 million from the FY 2015 Adopted Budget ($157.2 million). It includes increased allocations across funded areas, including: Cultural Institutions Group, whose total budget for FY 2016 is $110.6 million; Cultural Development Fund and Programs, $33.6 million; Cultural Afterschool Adventures Program, $8.16 million; Coalition of Theaters of Color, $1.97 million; Cultural Immigrant Initiative, $3.19 million; and additional programs and agency expenses.

Read the details now live on the Department of Cultural Affairs’ website. 

Thank you for joining Dance/NYC in advocating for dance and culture. The budget results, in part, from your collective voice and testimony on the contributions of dance and culture to all New Yorkers. Please join Dance/NYC in thanking New York City Council Speaker Melissa-Mark Viverito, Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, Finance Chair Julissa Ferreras, and your City Council member for the Council's work on this budget. And thank you to Mayor Bill De Blasio and Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl for all they are doing for dance and culture.

Many thanks also to our cultural partners, including the New York City Arts Coalition and One Percent for Culture and many more, for their leadership and advocacy this year. 

Visit the all-new Dance/NYC website for regular advocacy updates.

Onward,

The team at Dance/NYC