Executive Vice President and New York Local President Rebecca Damon joined government, arts and labor leaders at a Feb. 24 live discussion that included a state report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and entertainment sector in New York.
The pandemic has been devastating to New York’s creative community, and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli delivered a summary of the report, detailing its effects. After the March 2020 stay-at-home order, employment in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector plummeted, and by December, employment had declined 66% from one year earlier.
DiNapoli’s message was that it would take the arts community, labor and government working together to rebuild the industry to pre-pandemic levels.
“It’s about getting our economy back and our souls back, and getting people back to work,” DiNapoli said.
Damon echoed those sentiments in her remarks.
“New York is a cultural hub of our nation and it’s also one of the most richly artistic and creative cities in the world. It takes a lot of people doing a lot of different jobs to build that culture every single day. Without rebuilding the creative systems, we are not going to make a full recovery,” she said. “We thank Comptroller DiNapoli for shining this crucial light on the outsized impact that COVID-19 has had on the arts and entertainment industry.”
In addition to Damon, the virtual presentation included Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, National Black Theatre Institute for Action Arts Chief Executive Director Sade Lythcott, Harlem Arts Alliance Chairman Voza Rivers, League of Independent Theater Managing Director Aimee Todoroff, and IATSE LOCAL 1 President James Claffey.
Watch the video and read the report here.
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