The League of Independent
Theater invites you to participate in the League’s inaugural political event:
“Meet
the Candidates: The 2013 City Elections and the Performing Arts”
at The Players on March 12,
2013 at 7:00 p.m.
16 Gramercy Park South
The
League of Independent Theater (“LIT”) is the only 501(c) 6
advocacy organization for the independent theater and performing arts
population of New York City, serving over 50,000 independent
performing artists, 86% of whom vote regularly. LIT
will endorse candidates in every City race, and work to form alliances with
other cultural advocacy organizations in the City that will foster an all-out
“Get Out The Vote” effort on behalf of those candidates selected. LIT’s
endorsement will not be based on a “LITmus” test, but rather on
the individual candidate’s willingness to enter into a substantive and serious
conversation with us on the below performing arts platform.
As a
pro-performing arts elected official, I will work to:
1. Create access to low-cost and/or
no-cost Community Facilities Spaces that are currently
available and remain unused throughout the
City through the creation of a Community Facilities Space Database.
2. Create access to empty and unused City
property to be re-purposed as temporary rehearsal, office and (if appropriate),
performance space.
3. Include
non-profit performance venues in the favorable electricity and utility rates
enjoyed by religious institutions and the VFW.
4. Implement
a proposal that would reduce or eliminate property tax assessments for those
non-profit organizations that have an artistic mission and/or rent performance
space to similar non-profit performing arts groups with artistic missions of their
own. This proposal was unanimously ratified by all twelve (12) Manhattan
Community Boards.
5. Secure affordable
permanent low-cost housing for working artists. In addition, work to
provide access to affordable healthcare for these artists, depending on the
status and reach of the Affordable Care Act at the time of negotiations.
6. Support the
commission of an economic impact study for the independent theater territory.
7. Work with the
Department of Cultural Affairs to expand the Cultural Institutions Group to
include the independent theater sector’s anchor venues.
8. Install plaques
at sites of historical import and rename streets after the founders of the
independent and Off-Off Broadway community.
If you are interested in speaking, we invite you to meet
with LIT’s Political Action Committee to discuss the above-platform in more
detail. As there are
limited speaking slots available for this important March 12thevent,
which we expect will attract hundreds of civic-minded performing
artists, we recommend that you contact us as soon possible to set up
a phone or in-person appointment.
LIT
looks forward to working with your campaign in a successful effort to elect
pro-arts candidates in the 2013 City Election Cycle. RSVP to politics@litny.org or 917-539-3153.
Thank
you,
The
League of Independent Theater
www.litny.org
