For an evening, politicians generous to the arts

Posted July 31, 2013 By Emmanuel Felton

The mayoral candidates recalled viola lessons, finger-painting and field trips to the Metropolitan Opera at a Tuesday night forum on education and the arts, hosted by Columbia University Teachers College, Young Audiences New York and One Percent for Culture.

Aside from a few obligatory jokes at the expense of absent rival Anthony Weiner, the dozen candidates who participated opted to criticize Mayor Michael Bloomberg and not each other, decrying dwindling public support for nonprofit arts organizations and reductions to arts funding by the city Department of Education. Each spoke in turn, without opportunity to debate one another.

At a candidate forum, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn suggested the city reevaluate consultant contracts to free up funds for the arts. Photo: Sebastien Malo

Currently public school principals receive a combined $60 million in supplemental arts funding, with discretion to use the money on non-arts expenses. Several of the mayoral candidates argued that this policy along with the department’s emphasis on standardized testing had created incentives for principals to remove the arts from schools.

Democratic candidate Bill Thompson suggested measuring a school’s arts program in the annual city progress reports.

The candidates also used the opportunity to lament the whole testing apparatus.

“Schools spend too much time getting ready for the big tests in the spring,” said Comptroller John Liu. “There is too much focus on numbers and statistics.”

Jack Hidary, a tech millionaire who is running as an independent, argued that training in arts and culture is essential for the city’s future.

“This market is looking for creativity and problem-solving skills,” said Hidary. “Let’s teach for the real world and not the test.”

When asked where she could find the money for more arts education, Council Speaker Christine Quinn attacked the Department of Education’s nearly $1 billion in contracts with consultants. Liu struck a similar tone.

Bill de Blasio offered up his plan to apply a 1 percent tax to households making more than $500,000 for after-school programs that would include the arts.

WNYC radio host Leonard Lopate, who moderated the discussion with colleague Kurt Andersen, used the time with former Metropolitan Transportation Authority head Joseph Lhota to ask him about an incident that occurred while he was serving in Mayor Giuliani’s administration: a threat to pull funding for the Brooklyn Museum over a painting the mayor believed sullied the Virgin Mary.

Lhota acknowledged his role himself as the administration’s point man on the fight, a role he says he now regrets. “I made a mistake,” he told the interviewers. And he pointed out that no damage was ultimately done. “The court held that once New York City has given unrestricted money, I couldn’t go back.”

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<h1>For an evening, politicians generous to the arts</h1>The mayoral candidates recalled viola lessons, finger-painting and field trips to the Metropolitan Opera at a Tuesday night forum on education and the arts, hosted by Columbia University Teachers College, Young Audiences New York and One Percent for Culture.
Aside from a few obligatory jokes at the expense of absent rival Anthony Weiner, the dozen candidates who participated opted to criticize Mayor Michael Bloomberg and not each other, decrying dwindling public support for nonprofit arts organizations and reductions to arts funding  by the city Department of Education. Each spoke in turn, without opportunity to debate one another.
<div id="attachment_11657" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-11657" class="size-medium wp-image-11657" alt="Photo: Sebastien Malo" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/quinn-300x169.jpg" width="300" height="169" srcset="thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/quinn-300x169.jpg 300w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/quinn-352x198.jpg 352w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/quinn-500x281.jpg 500w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/quinn.jpg 568w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />At a candidate forum, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn suggested the city reevaluate consultant contracts to free up funds for the arts. Photo: Sebastien Malo</div>
Currently public school principals receive a combined $60 million in supplemental arts funding, with discretion to use the money on non-arts expenses. Several of the mayoral candidates argued that this policy along with the department’s emphasis on standardized testing had created incentives for principals to remove the arts from schools.
Democratic candidate Bill Thompson suggested measuring a school’s arts program in the annual city progress reports.
The candidates also used the opportunity to lament the whole testing apparatus.
“Schools spend too much time getting ready for the big tests in the spring,” said Comptroller John Liu. “There is too much focus on numbers and statistics.”
Jack Hidary, a tech millionaire who is running as an independent, argued that training in arts and culture is essential for the city’s future.
“This market is looking for creativity and problem-solving skills,” said Hidary. “Let’s teach for the real world and not the test.”
When asked where she could find the money for more arts education, Council Speaker Christine Quinn attacked the Department of Education’s nearly $1 billion in contracts with consultants. Liu struck a similar tone.
Bill de Blasio offered up his plan to apply a 1 percent tax to households making more than $500,000 for after-school programs that would include the arts.
WNYC radio host Leonard Lopate, who moderated the discussion with colleague Kurt Andersen, used the time with former Metropolitan Transportation Authority head Joseph Lhota to ask him about an incident that occurred while he was serving in Mayor Giuliani’s administration: a threat to pull funding for the Brooklyn Museum over a painting the mayor believed sullied the Virgin Mary.
Lhota acknowledged his role himself as the administration’s point man on the fight, a role he says he now regrets. “I made a mistake,” he told the interviewers. And he pointed out that no damage was ultimately done. “The court held that once New York City has given unrestricted money, I couldn’t go back.”

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