STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7737
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KIM -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development
AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law and the economic
development law, in relation to creating the arts and cultural
district
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a
2 new section 3.17 to read as follows:
3 § 3.17. Arts and cultural districts. 1. For the purposes of this
4 section, "arts and cultural districts" means geographic areas of a city,
5 town or village with a concentration of arts or cultural facilities
6 located within its boundaries. Two or more local governments may jointly
7 apply for a designated district where the proposed geographic area of
8 such district shall extend across commonly held jurisdictional bounda-
9 ries.
10 2. The council, in cooperation with the department of economic devel-
11 opment and any other state department, office, division or agency the
12 council deems necessary, shall develop criteria and guidelines for state
13 designated arts and cultural districts. Criteria developed by the coun-
14 cil, in cooperation with the department of economic development and any
15 other state department, office, division or agency the council deems
16 necessary, to designate a district shall, to the extent practicable,
17 include, but not be limited to, determinations that such district: (a)
18 attracts artists, arts educators, or cultural enterprises to the commu-
19 nity, (b) encourages enterprise and job development due to the concen-
20 tration of artistic or cultural activity, a major arts or cultural
21 institution or facility, arts and entertainment businesses, an area with
22 arts and cultural activities, arts education, or artistic or cultural
23 production, (c) attracts a sufficient amount of tourism, (d) enhances
24 local property values and fosters local cultural development, (e)
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01663-01-5
A. 7737 2
1 engages in the promotional, preservation, and educational aspects of the
2 arts and culture of the community and contribute to the public through
3 interpretive, educational, or recreational uses; or (f) satisfies addi-
4 tional criteria as determined by the council that will further the
5 purposes of this section. The council, in cooperation with the depart-
6 ment of economic development and any other state department, office,
7 division or agency the council deems necessary, shall also develop
8 guidelines that provide assistance to a city, town, or village, or
9 multiple local governments applying jointly in developing an application
10 for district certification. For any state designated arts and cultural
11 district, the department of economic development, in cooperation with
12 the council and any other state department, office, division or agency
13 the department deems necessary, shall provide state supported assistance
14 to the district in its activities, including but not limited to tech-
15 nical assistance in applying for federal and non-profit grants, market-
16 ing expertise, identification of other state resources that may
17 assist a district's activities or programs that could be created or
18 expanded within state agencies to assist districts.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
20 it shall have become a law.
