NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7737
SPONSOR: Kim TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the arts and cultural affairs law and the economic
development law, in relation to creating the arts and cultural district
PURPOSE:
Relates to developing criteria and guidelines for state designated arts
and cultural districts
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Requires the Council of the Arts to develop guidelines for state-desig-
nated arts and cultural districts, which shall be designated as such
upon application and approval if such a proposed district meets one of
several criteria for economic development and positive community impact.
A district may be within one municipality, or cross municipal lines
based upon the nature of the district. Once certified as a state-desig-
nated arts and cultural district, such districts shall receive various
development opportunities, technical assistance, and marketing guidance.
JUSTIFICATION:
There are many areas within the state that have specific artistic or
cultural value and appeal, including geographic areas with a concen-
tration of art, artists, or general places of cultural significance.
These clusters provide significant economic and quality of life value to
the local community or have the potential to do so if additional
resources were available. This legislation would create a state-certi-
fied "arts and cultural district" designation, allowing municipalities
to apply for designation for areas of such clustering of art and
cultural institutions and to receive state assistance. For a designated
district, the Council of the Arts and the Empire State Development
Corporation would provide, among other things, technical assistance in
applying for grants, marketing expertise, guides for finding additional
state resources, increased tourism opportunities, and other state
resources and economic development opportunities. By certifying and
assisting these specialized districts, the state will help struggling
municipalities benefit from their artistic and cultural strengths.
Whether a concentration of museums, large number of artistic residences,
or historic sites with artistic or cultural value, many municipalities
have untapped potential, and the state should encourage the growth and
development of these special places.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S253A- Passed Senate. Passed Assembly. Delivered to Governor.
Vetoed Memo.125
2022: S1358-A - Passed Senate.
2021: S1358 - Cultural Affairs Committee.
2020: S1425 - Cultural Affairs Committee.
2019: S1425 - Advanced to Third Reading.
2017 - 2018: S3108 - Passed Senate.
2016: S6271A - Passed Senate.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
120 days after becoming a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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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.
