 So we're going to start with an icebreaker question and this is going to be a one-word answer from all of you real fast We really want to know where you honestly stand on things and we're gonna start with this this question here Mets or Yankees? My name is Aaron Fouldenauer, candidate for New York City Council District 1, Yankees Hi, my name is Christopher Marte. I'm running for City Council District 1 and I say Yankees Good evening. My name is Jasmine Sanchez. I'm running for New York City Council District 2 at New York Mets Hello, I'm Mary Silver. I'm running for City Council District 2 and I say Yankees Hi everyone, I'm Karolina Rivera, my candidate for New York City Council District 2 And I love the Mets so much that Mr. Mets showed up to my wedding Hi, I'm Erin Hussain, also a candidate for New York City Council District 2, Mets The correct answer is actually Brooklyn Cyclones. We are in the time at the end of the round Okay, so All right, now that we're all nice and loose Our first question will focus on real estate In particular space to rehearse and perform. It is the number one concern for our members With space before funding is our motto as one of the lead founding members and OV winner John Clancy would say when we have space We make work happen Real estate is the highest budget item for productions Despite the rising cost for space rental around 100 indie theaters venues in New York City have closed since the year 2000 Candidates, please address one of the first three clients of our performing arts platform They cover access to potential rehearsal and performance space Exchange programs to get space is our motto as one of the leads So nice with your toys So the creation and preservation of current spaces so what would you do if Electives take tangible positive steps to achieve these proposals each of you have two minutes to answer this question We're going to start again. Stay great and move to stage left Again, my name is Aaron fold an hour and I actually have a substantial background in the performing arts Which I hope to tell you about later, but to the point of the question New York City is actually dotted with empty store fronts and in my district lower Manhattan And on a stretch of Broadway in Soho out of 100 store fronts 20 of them are empty and Landlords apparently have incentives to leave the space empty to hold out for what they think is the perfect chain store Which is actually a big problem because New York City risks becoming a generic suburb like Mall of America and if that happens Then no one will want to come here. No one will want to visit our unique cultural institutions so what I would do is provide incentives for landlords to Open their empty spaces open the empty floors on office towers and use those spaces for rehearsal spaces and performance spaces and and thus it's a win-win for everyone the landlord wins and all of you have spaces to rehearse and Spaces to perform. Thank you very much Oh Hello everyone again, my name is Christopher Marte I grew up in the Lower East Side not too far away from here And I know the importance of art theater and affordable space my dad a bodega owner by day a night playwright He used to go do playwrights and the after I got the which is literally across the street So I know the importance of having affordable space to express yourself tell your story show your vision And so that's why I'm proposing not only to use bacon storefront with tactic tennis to allow Affordable plays and rehearsals to take place, but also look at the theaters that are vacant. Canal Street Theater is vacant It's a beautiful theater that hasn't had a show in over 20 years Can you imagine that in a city filled with artists looking and trying to find a place to perform? And we have a beautiful theater that can sit almost 300 people not even being used And so it's having the vision the knowledge of what the neighborhood it has You know interacting with people say what space can you give us and then creating a database online? So everyone in this room knows that that place is available and that place is affordable So in my experience with technology community Engagement I will talk to people Research and put it online for everyone to see you know created Craigslist, you know, maybe we use up City space, but maybe we enhance it that has live data of when you use it how you use it and For what purposes so that's what I was that's what I'll do at your city You come to person someone that knows the district that knows technology and that has done it before I repurpose my brother's gym facility for artists We actually had artists in residence for three months when they did Danny in the Deep blue sea and it was amazing, you know Friday night Saturday and Sunday night That's all they need it They needed one hour to prep and one hour to clean up and they're able to express themselves perform and had a great great Event and so that's what I'll do as a city council person and you can trust me because I've done it before I know how to do it and I can do it the right way Do it Good evening everyone. My name is Jasmine Sanchez and I'm running for city council for the second district This is something that is home to me because my sister recently graduated from NYU tish as a theater major So I do understand the struggles that all of you are facing she's been interning since graduation and She's been working on productions and she's had to secure spaces and it's been really really hard for her to do So What I have been able to do thus far is as a founder of my own nonprofit organization I have been able to work with Department of Education and private schools as well as night job facilities and dycd to ensure that we do have access to these spaces in exchange for any of the workshops that I have which are service learning athleticism programs Workshops for mentoring for young girls and young boys So we were able to secure space after hours Especially a beacon program and these magical facilities that stay open until 10 p.m. Because you were offering a service to the community and this is what I will do for you I will ensure that I'm advocating on your behalf to make sure that you can get into these schools that close at 3 p.m And utilize these spaces in my district in particular in Baruch houses There's a bathhouse that has been abandoned since the 70s I don't understand why it hasn't been read of it yet But I think this would be an ideal place to start a cultural hub with all types of performing organizations here All sorts of organizations Lastly, I think that there's another organization. There's another building of Charras, which is on Avenue B And I think that that needs to be reopened and I feel that with me as an advocate Because I do understand the fight that everyone has to go through because I am seeing it first hand with my sister This will be accomplished and I will not let you down I think it sounds better. I'm Mary Silver. I'm running for city council council district 2. I have spent 20 years Advocating for our schools. I went from class mom to PTA president to the school board to the community board to the advisory board for The 30th Street Men's Home Shelter along the way I focused on performing arts because despite what our controller says while there are arts teachers There are no performing arts teachers or very rarely are there performing arts teachers in our schools However, many of our schools do have as Jasmine mentioned Lots of performance space. I just spent the last several years Raising about a million dollars for our public schools to create performance space in elementary school and in a high school as well, but we'll college campus high school It's all about community relationships I think that one of the biggest problems for the Indie theater is a PR problem if I may say that I think that New York City doesn't appreciate the kind of work that you do And that we need to work together to make sure that you are on the forefront Performance as you have been for many many years. So in my mind, it really is pragmatic to look at schools those opportunities are there and Students would benefit from you coming in and teaching them. I know there's a model in Queens that works right now We need to make sure through awareness that we expand those ideas I also think in terms of senior centers, this would be a perfect match for Performance space and for seniors to develop workshops not only in the schools But for seniors many of them will have performing arts backgrounds themselves. So this would really be a very good fit and I want to I want to be your city council member and if somebody who has a background in the arts I used to roam these streets Working for artists and performers and I know where the hidden gems are Hello everyone So this is a great question. It all leads to affordability. I am someone who has spent my entire life in this district I'm a lifelong New Yorker, but specifically I have spent my entire life walking up and down these streets So I know what the issues are from corner to corner So when we talk about affordability, you're absolutely right We're talking about space and we're talking about space in every sense of the word housing small businesses Services even where our transportation is right every single square inch of space is Speculated on in New York City, and I think it's about time that our working-class families and specifically artists got their fair share So I my background is working in activism and Before I worked inside of the city council and I'll tell you a little bit about kind of the budget process and how important that is to Maintaining this kind of survival of our independent theaters I worked at good oloree side and I worked organizing tenants a lot of them artists who have been here a long time And a lot of them that are new to the neighborhood and my campaign will be inclusive and will include everyone But what I always said is that we have to really link arts and activism It is the one thing that truly brings us all together. It is intergenerational And it is something that you can put youth and and senior citizens in the room and you can still have a constructive conversation So what I want to do? Yes. I want to utilize the the underutilized space I want to go and tonight to some of this these commercial stores that aren't being used And I want to make sure that by using the city council funds that we are giving it back to our institutions I remember my experience of going to see a show at well It wasn't ps122, but we will open those doors soon It was in the Connolly theater, and I saw this wonderful show called mission drift in the style of the shot bro Who can say that they can see that on East 4th Street nowhere else, but East Village and District 2 So I will fight for this funding I will make sure that I found the community-based organization that are doing the work, and I really really am proud to be running in my hometown Again, I'm Erin Hussain. I am a former lawyer and when I went to law school. I wrote and directed the law school follies at my law school I'm just I'm one of those people I believe like Shakespeare that Performing art and life are just two sizes the same coin That's why I'm particularly taken by The second plank of the platform our district spent $20,000 in discretionary funds on afterschool programs for public school students and about that same much for senior centers This is money that Obviously, you know, we don't need to spend that much money if we are creating a way to benefit the communities all of the communities so if we can Help out infinite theater by allowing them to use public school space or using senior center space And then at the same time, they're running workshop for seniors who I think Mary said a lot of them have performing art backgrounds themselves or children who Whose imagination can be sparked by working with performing arts Then I think it's a win-win for everyone It looks more like a barter system and less like a like an expenditure system In my building I I'm the president one of largest co-ops in the district and we have residents that are 94 years old all the way down to Residents that are two months old and the joy that you see From the interaction of the different ages working together is just something that I think theater could definitely bring to all of these Different demographics and populations. I also want to echo what Jasmine said 605 East Night Street is the former Charis building It's the building where spite Lee presented his first student film in the auditorium It was a building that was built to be a school and to be a student and to be a community auditorium facility It has been sitting vacant for 20 years It has to be given It would be a performer space or a hustle space is a hundred and fifty thousand All right round one is over Doing well While we're transitioning here Some shout-outs are as if before straight theater Somebody has to take care of everything Robert Gagnu go see show a podcast over here Over a Kapparadi and Cairo's Italy theater. She's also the head of our foreign language working group She should be here Kevin Cunningham from 3LD. Are you here, sir? I'll give him a round of applause anyway Brad Burgess with the living theater. I saw Brad back there Brad also doing some great things Amy Todorov and Kristen Cantwell from Elephant Run District are here Katie Palmer and Amber Gosh from Theater and Asylum Indie space creating permanent real estate solutions for the independent theater community Also a part of Indie theater fun that there is and Brad and all kinds of folks Which is financially assisting indie theater companies and artists. All right, so now we're gonna move on to our lightning round of questions candidates Very simply raise your hands if You are willing to be a co-sponsor to Ben Kale's city spaces initiative to create a searchable database of unused or underutilized city-owned spaces Raise your hands if you will clearly and visibly list your stances on issues facing Indie theater the performing arts on your campaigns website and Literature you support campaign finance reform and getting money from PACs super PACs are special interests out of Political campaigns at all levels you commit to covering the gap created if there are cuts on a federal level to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the humanity You support a path to citizenship for artists who come to this country to perform or work on Indie theater productions You support the efforts by New Yorkers for culture and arts in getting parody in the NYC cultural plan Between our cultural institutions group and cultural development fund You support the expansion of the cultural institutions group to include independent theater anchor venues You support the promotion of Indie theater to the more than 61 million visitors coming to New York City each year You promise to see at least three Productions The elections including but not limited to my production of 23 Use it All right, so So question number two here we go Bohemia is dead There is a whole foods four blocks from here The Starbucks at 47th and 9th was priced out of Hell's Kitchen There will not be a New York International Fringe Festival for the first time in two decades On Monday the Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation and the Villager reported Mayor de Blasio's plan to create a giant tech hub on 14th Street where the PC Richardson Suns currently sits as An anchor for the proposed Silicon Alley between Astor Place and Union Square This tech hub would be down the block from where the Palladium which once was a 3000 seat concert venue is now an NYU dorm It is also around the corner from where the Union Square Theater is Being demolished to create office and real estate in retail space While the city must do things to progress create good jobs and look out for the indigent and at-risk populations How do you candidates make the case to your colleagues and constituents that the underfunded and mostly not famous indie theater artists Need to have living and working conditions that make it only moderately impossible And not completely impossible to live in art here. You have two minutes to respond Thank you very much for that important question And I think the first thing we need to do is look at the root cause And not just treat the symptom and it does get down I think to the decline of middle-class jobs in New York City and also the crazy government policies of subsidizing luxury condo development Which prices out real New Yorkers and the culture of New York City I'm going to represent Lower Manhattan and that's the area that the Dutch originally settled in 1624 so history and culture in New York City is very important to me And I do have a background in the arts. I am a trained percussionist I am a trained singer and I am a trained actor and my crowding moment Was in a big theatrical production was serving as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz And I was told by all the cast members that I looked fantastic in silver makeup Not only did Dorothy say that but also the wicked witch of the West so I have both sides covered So it is important to be an advocate for the arts I do believe in the arts and I do believe that we have to look at the root cause of the problem Not just treat the symptoms. Thank you. I agree with Aaron But it's also we're especially when we first started talking about affordable housing And I think we first have to think of the affordable housing that artists have in Soho and preserving that if you go to community board meetings Month after month, you know, real estate developers real estate brokers are always trying to proclaim that there's no more artists living in Tribeca in Soho and that's a lot You know, if you look at my financial disclosure statement, which is coming out today 25% of my donors are artists from Soho and Tribeca so they're still living there and they're still thriving You you can't say you're not an artist because you're not on stage. You're always an artist, you know, no matter if you're young You know middle age or Senior as an artist is an artist from the beginning to the end And I think that's how you have to see it from a city council position Looking at artists from you when I was a kid I did my first street performance at the age of nine on Staten Street and and then all throughout high school I even hosted the talent show and in college. I was actually told out in the Wizard of Oz But it's understanding that that artist doesn't stop, you know You don't stop creating art or thinking about art And so it's all about thinking about legislation that you could pass to increase affordable housing and true affordable housing I feel like when we look at the affordable housing that's being developed in our district Whether it's in the two bridges or exit street crossing I can't afford to live that the people that live two blocks down can't afford to live that a lot of them being artists A lot of artists came and moved down to the lower east side So I went to Tribeca because no one wanted to live here And so we had the not only the home But we had the space to express ourselves and I think we should try to preserve the people in the culture that is There for a reason people move here for that people move here for everyone in this room People want to see our works and that's why they want to live there. So I it's not only preserving the affordable housing That's there creating new true affordable housing Well, I guess the Wizard of Oz was something that was popular back then I played Dorothy I think I did pretty well I do think that preserving the living and working conditions of performing artists is really really important. I remember growing up a Lot of programs in the public school system allowed us to see Caps and to see all of these Broadway shows and to receive scholarships from these community-based Organizations with the hope that we will enjoy the arts somewhere along the line That must have faded out maybe at middle school high school where everything was so academic and we've lost the beauty of what art can really be and I think that that comes with the fact that it's really hard to gain a job once you graduate and I know that You know firsthand But what I would do is ensure that the performing artists actually can survive Can receive jobs and in doing so I will be speaking to organizations such as the Department of Youth and Community Development Which offers a substantial amount of money to after school programming beacon Programming nitro programming and ensure that in their proposals anyone that's applying for these are keys they include Vendors subcontractors that are all from performing arts organizations and that would entail having jobs having Having jobs and making sure that yours your talent are given to everyone as well That's it. Thank you So I was never in the Wizard of Oz But if I were I would have been choto I Want to really congratulate all of you for this coalition and this political activism because that is how things get done And frankly, I want to encourage you to work with your community boards. I sit on my community board for housing homelessness and human rights as well as health and education and It doesn't take much to motivate your community board to be responsive quite frankly So maybe this group here shows up for your community board and all of a sudden you're on the radar And you're starting to make them aware that artists are looking for space. They're looking for affordability We have that for our veterans when we talk about mandatory inclusionary housing We allocate space for our veterans I would like to get to the point where your community boards have that in their heads that You're looking for that space. You need that affordable space and that they should be making those same allocations for our artists Artists transform neighborhoods. I lived on Bleecker Street for many years And watch Greenwich Village be the hottest place in town And then artists couldn't afford to live there anymore and they kept getting pushed out and pushed out And continuing to transform neighborhoods and real estate Developers following them and prices increasing as a consequence. So I think it's your turn I think it's your turn to ask for affordability and for participation in your community boards and their decision-making when it comes just to space that you're entitled to So I want to underscore a political activism. That's how you're going to get stuff done. Thank you As your councilwoman One of the first things that I would like to do of course is to make sure that I am in touch with the groups that are doing the work I think that one of our responsibility Hopefully as your representatives is to make sure that we are finding the groups that are on the ground That are there every day and I know that performing artists It's a very very diverse category just the people in this room The kind of the copying in the beginning and all of you that feel these special roles to create this amazing community And I think that arts is really important to our holistic health It is really really important that it's just present every single day. It's not just something that should be after school It's not just something that should be an elementary school It should be throughout our lives and it's really about creating an accessible Environment and I think that what you're doing here at Lyft is Really using organizing and using political engagement in the right way so You know we have a very very diverse district and we mentioned you mentioned a lot you mentioned Small businesses you mentioned the tech hub and I think that what we fear is that we're going to become a very sterile City of neighborhoods and we're going to lose that authenticity in that grit that makes some of them so special and so unique And I think what we have to do is realize that there are still some really amazing pockets Where there are artists that need to be tapped into it doesn't seem like it But this block right here is very very far from the almost 10,000 units of public housing You're on the waterfront so I want to be able to build partnerships really build bridges and make sure that we're nourishing our artists There are people who have been here a long time I'm only still here because I still live in the building where I grew up my entire life And I want to make sure that the young people that come in whether they're able to live here or not Have the space to work and really have the space to create partnerships So we could create and maintain a very very culturally diverse and beautiful district Okay, so Wizard of Oz Never performed in it, but I do feel like I am living in it Wizard of Oz, I would have touched a meter hiding behind a curtain only interested in maintaining his own power Lots of small districts being affected by the fear and the feeling that they can't control their lives anymore I live on 10th Street I live four blocks away from where the Palladium which I loved and I think I had my first underage strength there It was a wonderful space. It was a community space. It was also a performance space in the concert space and now it's a dormitory I'm also there's three or four other buildings that Andrew Berman mentioned in that same email that are all within three or four blocks of me So what can we do? There are a couple things we can do about affordable housing The number one thing that we can do is we need to take a comprehensive look at our land use laws Land use laws have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1966 and they don't work for the city anymore They work for some people in the city. They work for developers. They don't work so well for the community We need to have the communities need to have a seat at the table, a serious seat at the table with teeth When these huge changes are being proposed to our neighborhoods When you are ripping down Beautiful historic tenants that have affordable housing, truly affordable housing And you're replacing them with a hotel or a gigantic residential building And you're putting a hundred affordable units in but they're priced so that within two years they're not going to be affordable anymore Those are affordable units that are leaking out of the system The second thing we can do is I love your idea of creating more West Bets You know, if we can have a tech hub, we can have an artist hub Why not have an artist hub? I mean, there's definitely vacant buildings around that the city could apply and the city could build them I mean, you know, if you build them, they will come But you know, we have to figure out where our value is Tech hub might be nice, but I would rather have an artist hub three blocks from where I'm trying to raise my family We're starting again back on the end with Aaron We're going to have one minute to give us a wrap up As an artist myself, arts education is very important to me And we haven't talked much about arts education today But let me tell you about Lower Manhattan, the district that I seek to represent There is the shortage of auditorium space in public schools in Lower Manhattan How do you have a band class? How do you have a band program? How do you have a holiday pageant or a high school theatrical play If you don't have an auditorium to hold those programs? So we need to invest more in arts education And we need to have the facilities in which we can have these very important arts programs Thank you very much for listening to all of us today Again, my name is Aaron Foldenauer, seeking to represent District 1 New York City Council I look forward to speaking with you all later I think today we really, each of us talked about what we could do as a city council person To help promote arts and not through only through legislation, but through the interviews And through just being vocal about it However, I feel like we forget one thing that a city council can do And that connects communities I want to represent one of the most diverse communities in the world Where we have Chinatown, we have Tribeca, we have Faraday, we have Lower East Side, we have Greenwich Village And I feel like understanding each and every aspect of the district is what I can do I could be that point person that could say, oh, this Chinese organization needs a theater Well, we have space in Henry Street Settlement Families in the Lower East Side want to know how to connect technology And theater, we could go to 3DL That family in Phi Die wants to hang out in Washington Square Park and see a show nearby I could take them to another theater We need someone that could be that connector Not only in City Hall, but in my office and industry And I would be that person fighting for affordable housing Fighting affordable space and fighting to have your voice proclaimed not only in the city, but nationwide Thank you Well, I want to thank Lit for putting this together And giving us the opportunity to speak about how we would enhance the platform that everyone here supports And I definitely want to thank all of you Because by you being here it shows that you're holding elected officials as well as candidates accountable For incorporating your platform in their vision if they're elected And I think that's really, really important, especially during this election year What I do want to say is that a lot of folks can say one thing prior to being elected But I want you to hold me accountable for the things that I have said And I challenge you to get my literature which is back there with my phone number and my website And see how I can best serve you now Not in September, not in January, but now Because I'm here to sell myself to you And I want you guys to be able to utilize the resources that I have So that we can make our community and our district beautiful I grew up here on the Lansing and Columbia Street in public housing And I still reside there and I know that the entire community, the city can benefit from having artists Participation and in the political process Thank you I want to thank all of you for being here today And I want to tell a little bit more about my background I really got my political education in the school yard And when we were experiencing $200,000 budget cuts every year It was clear to me that I had to reach out to elected officials And I had to reach out to community organizations And I want to emphasize that again As a consequence, we brought the New York Theater Ballet into local schools As well as the Turtle Bay music school all around you Are opportunities for partnerships So I want to make clear that we can accomplish what we need by looking around us Sometimes we just miss out on the obvious in terms of how we can work together as a community And bring resources to a school or a senior center Or provide performing space for you as a consequence of those partnerships I also want to say I'm a supporter and a participant in the Triangle Fire It is a new one-act opera that just premiered in New York City on Sunday You're all invited, March 25th, 1911 was the Triangle Shirtways Factory Fire And I want to tell you to go to Waverley Place at NYU, at University Place And it's a wonderful event, so be there, please Well everyone, I want to thank you of course I see people here in this room that I have worked with in the past And so my career has been spent coalition building and building these partnerships I will never say I've done anything alone It has always, always been with groups and with the pioneers of this community This district has a pioneering spirit and we know how to do a lot with them very little So when we talk about the cultural institutions group and how much money and power there is there And how we want to expand that list, we have to be ready for a fight And I'm a fighter, I've always been a fighter I was raised by strong strong women and that's who's always at the forefront of the movement And that's what this is, this campaign is an opportunity for us to be inclusive To be pushed by people power I know so many artists in here who have been displaced And what I want to do, I know it's going to be an uphill battle and it's going to be challenging Being a city council person is probably one of the most challenging positions in the city But I will be here to fight for the funding that we need And to make sure we have arts in our classrooms and everywhere It is so important to our health and I hope to have your support Okay, thank you very much for having us here I ask three things, one is that you vote, vote on September 12th Election Day in New York City is September 12th, not November, it's the primary Vote on September 12th, please vote for me Vote for me, I'm not in my district, I feel bad if you're not in my district Vote for somebody, go and vote, grab someone and vote, go for coffee, go and vote Everyone needs to vote on September 12th Second thing I would ask is if you don't know who your state senator is in Albany Find out, and find out if that person is a member of the IDC These are the people that are making New York State a red state And if you do live in an area where your state senator is a member of the IDC Please make sure that you vote in the primary in September 2018 New York State is a blue state, it should be a blue state And we all have to band together, this is a New York City problem Because it's our state senators that are the primary constituents of the IDC The third thing I would ask is keep making art, please Please keep making art, it's the only thing that is keeping me going And since November, early November We rely on it, we rely on it to make us feel happy when we're dead And I just God bless all of you for participating in that process We could give a round of applause for our parents We're about to take a five minute break to switch everybody out Before we do, let me say two, three things One, if you like any of these folks, if you're heartless pitter pat for any of these folks Volunteer for them tonight Walk over to them and introduce yourselves Two, get some beer Three, bathrooms upstairs, five minutes, thank you