Musicians, dancers, comedians, theatrical performers, and other artists will be able to perform outside around New York City starting this spring thanks to a new Open Culture program.
The City Council passed legislation on Thursday that allows any DCLA and Borough Arts Council funded artist and cultural organizations, venues or institutions to be able to utilize public outdoor spaces for ticketed events and performances. And any artist and venue can partner with an eligible organization for permits as well.
“Arts and culture are the lifeblood of our city," said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who introduced the legislation back in August. "With the new Open Culture program, artists and art groups can start staging performances - and charge for them - starting March 1. There will be dancing, singing & comedy on the streets bringing joy and jobs to thousands. We need to use our City’s space in new and creative ways to make sure the cultural community. This new law will be a dynamic and transformative program for our cultural community and will create a dynamic open space use—a true win-win."
The program, which begins March 1st and will run though October 31st, will allow performers to make use of Open Streets as well as additional streets in all five boroughs selected by the Department Of Transportation in consultation with local council members. The program will be administered by the Mayor's Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management, in consultation with the DOT.
Participation in the program will be free, with numerous application fees waived and the maximum charge lowered to $20. As with other Open Streets initiatives, permits will be expedited for participants. All events must abide by the state and city COVID guidelines.
Since September, "low-risk cultural arts"—including museums and aquariums—have been allowed to reopen to the public indoors at 25% maximum occupancy with safety measures including pre-set staggered entries, require face coverings, and be able to control traffic flow. However, the state has made it clear recently that all non-essential indoor activities could be paused in the coming weeks as COVID cases continue to rise once again.
No ticketed live entertainment has been allowed ever since the State Liquor Authority updated their website in August to clarify guidelines that specify that restaurants and bars are prohibited from offering live music, ticketed events, and other forms of outdoor entertainment, as well as karaoke, exotic dancing, and comedy shows. Only incidental music has been permissible since.
New York venues have remained closed since the start of the pandemic, leading to an effort to pass federal legislation to provide financial relief for venues during this period. Without those federal funds, advocacy groups estimate that 90% of indie venues will be forced to close permanently.
The Open Streets program, and its offshoot Open Restaurants program, have been deemed successes—with over 10,800 restaurants taking part in it—and it has been made permanent and year-round. The city also launched an Open Storefronts program to help small businesses expand outdoors and into street space, but that has not been as successful.
