Commissioner Vij reviews government connections and Create in Place
Vij describes immigration summit, commissioner office hours, Office of Nightlife, and Create in Place, which has supported over 100 creative businesses and helped Red Hook fire recovery and South of Prospect rezoning.
Objective three from the action plan is to strengthen connections between the cultural sector and government.
It names new funding programs, partnerships like a summit on immigration that I was proud to organize, and office hours with the commissioner, a series of direct engagements with the commissioner launched for Create NYC that I revived when I started as commissioner earlier this year.
Create NYC has also spurred the creation of the city's Office of Nightlife.
The office has opened new pathways.
ways to support for support and collaboration between our nightlife and DIY arts venues and city government
from ending the March task force to increasing safety through Narcan trainings ONL has been a transformative transformative conduit between a previously overlooked sector in our city and local officials
since starting in 2018 the office has resolved hundreds of quality of life and venue safety cases and helped to save places like lot radio in Brooklyn from shuttering
Another development that has reshaped our work in this area is the NYC Create in Place program.
Launched in 2024, Create in Place built on this model and put several key recommendations from Create NYC and focuses on helping cultural organizations to navigate real estate challenges.
It supports Create NYC's citywide coordination goals by working with over a dozen city agencies, including DCP, SBS, EDC, and MoM, to address real estate regulatory and other challenges.
Since its launch, the initiative has supported more than 100 creative small businesses and nonprofit arts organizations across all five boroughs and reached more than 800 people.
When crises strike, like the fire that tore through dozens of artists and creative workspaces in Red Hook last year, Create in Place served a crucial connector between those affected and the resources that can help them recover.
In Red Hook, we secured space to triage damaged artworks and equipment and secured 75 artists and small businesses SBA loans for recovery.
Through Create in Place, we've recently been working closely with DCP to make sure that the cultural...
community, including the 37 DCLA grantees operating in the area, is involved at the ground floor of the South of Prospect rezoning effort in Brooklyn.
During the pandemic, DCLA's primary focus was on emergency response and recovery.
The pandemic forged new networks, advocacy groups, and mutual aid efforts that have reshaped how the cultural sector organizes and how we share information.
Culture at Three, members of which are present in the room today, has become an indispensable forum for communicating with the sector.
I've joined the calls to meet with participants and take questions.
We've also connected other agencies like COGE and MOERJ to share information about their programs.