Budget Invests in the Arts, Building Back New York's Economy

Speaker Carl Heastie; Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry Chair Harry B. Bronson; and Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee Chair Daniel J. O’Donnell today announced that the Enacted State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022-23 Budget invests in programs that support the arts, encourage innovation and help rebuild New York’s economy.

“This is a budget that invests in our small businesses, our economy and in New Yorkers,” Speaker Heastie said. “The Assembly Majority is committed to getting people back to work, helping our small businesses and arts and cultural institutions recover, and building our state back stronger than ever.”

“This budget makes important investments in New York’s economy and in our people,” Assemblymember Bronson said. “We are committed to supporting the businesses and cultural institutions that are central to our communities and our state’s economy as they continue to rebuild and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The arts are the beating heart of New York,” Assemblymember O’Donnell said. “The pandemic took a heavy toll on the arts and artists across our state from Broadway to local theaters and museums across the state, and many are still struggling. This budget will help our arts and cultural institutions to keep their doors open and keep inspiring us with their work.”

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing restaurants to sell alcohol to go helped to keep their doors open. This budget would make that provision permanent, authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages for takeout and delivery.

The arts and institutions like theaters and museums were hit especially hard by the pandemic. To help them recover, the SFY 2022-23 Budget appropriates $50 million for the New York State Council on the Arts to provide pandemic relief, $10 million of which is through regional arts councils. The budget also includes $1 million for arts stabilization grants and $750,000 for grants to arts organizations.

The spending plan also includes:

• $200 million for market and shovel ready sites;
• $1 million for each of the Centers for Advance Technology (CAT);
• $1 million for each of the 14 Centers of Excellence across the state;
• An additional $1.37 million for the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Development and Lending Program for a total of $2 million; and
• $1 million for military base redevelopment efforts.

The Assembly Majority is committed to investing in green technology and infrastructure, and this year’s budget includes $500 million for the development of offshore wind ports. Also included in the budget are:

• $320 million for the New York Works Economic Development Fund;
• $300 million in state funding to ensure access to highspeed internet across the state, this is in addition to $1.1 billion in federal funding, for a total of $1.4 billion; and
• $250 million for the Restore New York Communities Initiative.

The spending planning includes $50 million in state support for the Cannabis Management Program and provides assistance to socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in relation to the establishment of retail cannabis dispensaries. This funding will help implement the sale of adult use marijuana in New York State, which will create jobs across different industries, from agriculture to retail.

The budget also supports the proposal to provide $75 million for the Innovation Venture Competition program.