In the Arts: Bloomberg Giving Shift Leaves N.Y. Groups Struggling; L.A. Arts Groups Get a Reprieve

New York arts groups are laying off employees, cutting payrolls, and selling prized holdings to make up for money lost when the city’s billionaire mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, ended a grants program that had doled out tens of millions of dollars to cultural organizations since 2002, The Wall Street Journal writes.

Even after Mr. Bloomberg made it known in March that he had ended the grants, many recipients believed his gifts would continue through his family foundation, which the mayor has bolstered in recent months with new staff members, but no such grants have materialized. A person familiar with the foundation’s activity told the newspaper the philanthropy is mulling a similar grant program but could not provide a time frame.

In other arts news, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a last-minute infusion from a county reserve fund to reduce a planned cutback in grants to culture groups, writes the Los Angeles Times.

The move last week sets the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s budget for the 2010 fiscal year, which began July 1, at $4.1-million, down 6.8 percent from 2009. The commission had been facing a 10.6-percent cut.

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