TESTIMONY
Lisa Gold, Executive Director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, on the Inequitable Impact of Funding Cuts on Small and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Organizations
4:03:56
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134 sec
Gold advocates for restoring $76 million in funding cuts that disproportionately hurt small organizations serving Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
- She highlights that AAPI organizations receive less than 2% of the Department of Cultural Affairs budget despite AAPI communities making up 18% of NYC's population
- Small organizations lack capacity to apply for cultural affairs grants due to language barriers and rigorous application processes
- Even modest funding cuts severely limit the ability of these groups to provide critical community services like art programs for youth and seniors
Lisa Gold
4:03:56
Thank you.
4:03:58
Thank you.
4:03:59
My name is Lisa Gold.
4:04:00
I'm the Executive Director of the Asian American Arts Alliance.
4:04:03
And also a proud member of the Cultural Equity Coalition.
4:04:07
I wanna thank I'm gonna join my colleagues, and thank you for asking for the full restoration of $6,000,000.
4:04:14
You are hearing us.
4:04:15
You know how important cultural is.
4:04:17
Culture is to our community, so I don't even have to tell you.
4:04:20
I'm totally going off Stryker Peter, because I one of the questions that you asked was about equity, and I think the CDF is not equitable.
4:04:29
I think what is happening is that small organizations like ours, like many of the AAPI organizations and BiPOC led in serving organizations rely disproportionately on government funding, and they are hurt the most.
4:04:41
When the Department of Cultural Affairs says we need more people to apply We are small, and a lot of our organizations don't have the capacity.
4:04:49
I need to pull 50% of people that are part of my organization or the API arts organizations.
4:04:56
They don't have the the wherewithal.
4:04:58
They don't have the the language.
4:05:00
They don't have the ability to even write the grants for the Department of Cultural Affairs.
4:05:06
A lot of them even haven't even applied at the state level either because it's just too rigorous and it's too hard.
4:05:13
The hurdle is too high.
4:05:15
So our community is not getting our share funding.
4:05:19
You said 110th of what?
4:05:21
110th of 1% The depart our community, even within the Department of Cultural Affairs, the AAPI community receives less than 2% of the CDF budget.
4:05:30
We are 18% of the city that is 2% of 1 10th of 1%.
4:05:35
We are 18% of the city.
4:05:37
That how is that equitable?
4:05:38
That is not equitable.
4:05:39
Organizations, small organizations like artists, we do so much, with so little.
4:05:43
A $5000 cut means 10 artists aren't gonna be able to serve up to a 100,000 people in the community doing graphic design for domestic violence organizations, working with youth at Saia, creating murals, and after school programs performing folk songs for senior citizen, Hamilton Madison House.
4:06:04
We do a lot with a little.
4:06:05
So I beg you to restore the funding to our communities.
4:06:09
Thank you.
4:06:09
Thank you.
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Fran Garber-Cohen, President of Regina Opera Company, on the Impact of Budget Cuts on Regina Opera's Services for Senior Citizens and Low-Income Communities in Brooklyn
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Judith Insell, Executive Director of the Bronx Arts Ensemble, on the Need for Increased Funding for Community Arts and Cultural Programming in the Bronx
