The Very First Guide To
Community Tourism in NYC
Tourists and New Yorkers alike want to know the "real New York."
These tours take visitors into areas not on the typical tourist
map and connect them to local music, immigrant history, parks, waterways,
architecture, cuisine, artists, murals, and one-of-a-kind stores.
By Sheryl Lee and Nicole Edwards, with
technical assistance by Delphine Veaudor.
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DowntownNYC! was formed on November 8, 2001 at the Cherry
Lane Theater as a broad-based volunteer coalition of theater companies,
performing artists, galleries, museums, restaurants, businesses,
and pre-existing organizations & associations. It was established
to generate goodwill, to boost business, and to rally the spirits
of all who work and live downtown.
Downtown NYC!, Inc. is a fiscally sponsored organization of the
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. (http://www.lmcc.net)
TO CONTACT US
To reach DowntownNYC!, to offer opinions, or to volunteer time
or services, email Jonathan Slaff at: [email protected]
or telephone (212) 924-0496.
TO BECOME A DONOR
Individual gifts and in-kind donations to DowntownNYC! are gratefully
accepted. Donations are tax-deductable to the full extent permitted
by law.
To make a financial donation by credit card, please click here:
To make a financial donation by mail, please make checks payable
to Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, indicate "for DowntownNYC!"
in the memo line, and mail to:
DowntownNYC!
c/o Jonathan Slaff, Chairman
55 Perry St., #1M
New York, NY 10014
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RECOMMENDED READING:
Gotham Gazette
The Villager/Downtown
Express
Lower Manhattan.info
Special thanks to our Gov't Outreach Committee, JMTC Theatre, Theater
for the New City, Citizen's Committee for NYC and all the dedicated
volunteers on this project - Designer: Jana Soroczak and Photographer:Liséa
Lyons.
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"To Tunnel or not
To Tunnel?": Debates Around The Route 9A Project
On November 19, 2003, the New York State of Transportation organized
a public hearing to allow the members of the Downtown community to give
their opinions on the different alternatives considered for the reconstruction
of Route 9A in its World Trade Center portion. The final publication
of the project should be issued in Fall 2004.
By Delphine Veaudor
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Route 9A Project:
View North at Morris Street and Wesr Street. |
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Supporting
Cultural Tourism with ArtsVan
To support the Downtown creative economy
and promote local development and community revitalization, DowntownNYC!
is now preparing "ArtsVan," a mobile hospitality center
and ticketing truck.
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Artist's
rendition by Marilynn Hawkridge.
Logo by Jane Schiowitz.
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An ArtsVan
in Jerusalem
Israeli planners see a new dynamic for promoting
the arts in Israel.
DowntownNYC!'s ArtsVan initiative has come to the attention of
The Jerusalem Foundation, which is now planning to launch a similar
operation in the Holy City and make it the centerpiece of a collective
arts marketing effort there. The goal is to revitalize the city's
arts organizations by having a truck running through different neigborhoods
of the City to sell tickets and give free information on arts events
of all kinds.
Arts Activists
honored at benefit for DowntownNYC! ArtsVan
Cabaret performers, honorees and members of the Downtown community
gathered at the SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, on the evening
of May 30 to raise money for Downtown NYC's ArtsVan.
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L-R: Jonathan Slaff, Chairman of DowntownNYC!;
Richard Skipper (as Carol Channing) and honorees: Theodore S.
Berger, Executive Director, New York Foundation for the Arts;
Norma P. Munn Chairperson, NYC Arts Alliance. (Victor Nelson
photo). City Councilman Alan Gerson and arts activist Amy Schwartzman
Brightbill were also honored. (For more photos, see article.) |
The
Importance of the Arts to New York Citys Economy
In NYC, the Arts are a larger industry than
Advertising and a major engine of the economy. NYC's funding to
the non-profit cultural sector ripples through the economy and generates
a tax return that far outweighs the subsidies.
by: Rosemary Scanlon, Statement of Rosemary Scanlon, Associate
Professor, Real Estate Institute, New York University SCPS, to New
York City Council Committee.
Niche Business "Frames
Up" an Impressive Recovery
Many private businesses in Lower Manhattan are still on shaky ground,
and a lack of aid combined with the limitations of their local customer
base have caused them to flounder. The brave ones left are holding
in. L & O Frame on Duane Street is one of many private niche
businesses that, once greatly successful, is a case in point. By
Kevin J. Wong.
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Lawrence
Levinson, proprietor of L & O Frame. Photo: Kevin Wong.
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Promoting Downtown Arts
in Clearview Festival Productions' street fairs
Our "cultural concierge" kiosk will drum up audiences
for arts institutions in a series of neighborhood-based promotions,
using space in Downtown street fairs donated by Clearview Festival
Productions. See this article for schedule info and more.
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
"Pay attention when strolling around
downtown street fairs. A roaming "Cultural Concierge" is about to
change how arts organizations south of 14th Street do business."
(Backstage)
OUR 2004 ARTISTS' WRITE-IN:
The ongoing effect
of 9/11 upon artists of all disciplines in NYC
Testimonies point to continued weakness in the cultural sector,
which has caused many established artists to resort to non-artistic
work and others to leave the city to avoid economic hardship.
By Jonathan Slaff and Delphine Veaudor, in consultation with Carolyn
Sévos.
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
"Survey Finds Post-9/11 Times Harder for City's Artists" (New York
Times)
"New York City is Giving Artists the Brush-Off: Unaffordable; Other Cities
Happy to Oblige" (Crain's
New York Business)
"City Seeming A Bit Artless" (NY Daily
News)
What
happened to New York's artists after 9/11?
Silent victims of the tragedy
The attacks of September 11 significantly impacted the arts and entertainment
sector, causing far-reaching effects on the livelihoods of individual
artists, both those self-employed and those employed by others.
by: Jonathan Slaff and Carolyn Sévos, with consulting
editor Robert Cashill; additional analysis by Amy Schwartzman Brightbill,
NY Foundation for the Arts, Consortium for Worker Education and
DowntownNYC!
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
"Survey Finds Artists Since 9/11 Have
Less Work and More Debt" (New York Times)
How
bad was 9/11 to New York's Downtown theaters?
Assessing the damage
by: Leonard Jacobs, Backstage
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Printers Set an Optimistic
Example
Admiral Communications, a family-run printing company in Lower Manhattan,
was directly affected by September 11th. Today, this small business
exemplifies the spirit of resiliency that characterizes the neighborhood
of Ground Zero.
By Lauren Hare
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Admiral
employees are once again filling the cubicles. Photo: Lauren
Hare. |
NEW POST
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