TESTIMONY
Catherine Green Johnson on the Necessity and Challenges of Establishing an Art Center in East Brooklyn
1:17:16
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129 sec
Catherine Green Johnson addresses the critical need for an art center in East Brooklyn, emphasizing its potential community benefits and the challenges faced due to inequitable resource distribution.
- Johnson, sharing her experience as a former leader of Arts East New York, underscores the vital role of the art center for the community.
- She details the closure of Arts East New York due to funding issues, highlighting the negative impact on the community.
- Points out the economic and cultural contributions of the arts sector to New York City, stressing the importance of equitable funding for cultural institutions.
- Discusses the disparities in state and federal arts funding, especially in underserved areas like East Brooklyn.
- Emphasizes the art center project in Brownsville as a crucial initiative to address these inequities.
Catherine Green Johnson
1:17:16
I'm Catherine and Molly Brains Johnson.
1:17:18
Sorry about the wardrobe difficulties.
1:17:20
I'm excited to stand before you all today.
1:17:24
You know, I'm really passionate about this project.
1:17:27
The art center means a lot for our community.
1:17:31
We worked tirelessly and making sure that we received feedback from the neighborhood.
1:17:36
I used to run an organization that used New York called Arts East New York and worked in collaboration and partnership with the my colleagues in Brownsville to make sure that this came to fruition.
1:17:49
This project holds profound implications for the future of our community and our city, and I speak from personal experience having witness firsthand devastating the devastating consequences of the inequitable distribution of resources for our community.
1:18:05
I've been a part of the artist New York, an organization that has to that had to close its doors due to the lack of funding distributed throughout the city.
1:18:14
This was not just a closure, it left a void, and a chasm in the lives of the people we served.
1:18:21
It was a stark reminder of how funding for institutions and communities like ours have gone ignored so far too long.
1:18:30
And just to share a reminder, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, this sector contributes significantly to the city's economy, generating 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars in economic activity and supporting 1000 and thousands of jobs.
1:18:47
Yet despite the immersed economic and cultural impact, certain communities like hours in these Brooklyn continue to be underrepresented and underserved when it comes to cultural funding and resources.
1:19:00
The New York City I'm sorry.
1:19:01
The New York State And Federal Arts Funding also demonstrates disparities.
1:19:05
We, as architects, New York, were the 1st organization to receive the national endowment for the in the East Brooklyn community.
1:19:11
That was in 20 2016.
1:19:17
Have more to share, but I think that it's a stark reminder of how in equitable the city has been and this importance of this project to come to Brownsville.