Ossining Village Board Joins Right to Bear Arts Movement
The Ossining Village Board of Trustees recently joined the “Right to Bear Arts” movement when it strongly opposed President Trump’s proposed budget calling for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
At a special legislative meeting on March 29, the board became one of the first municipalities to bring national politics to a local level when it passed a resolution calling on Congress to reject the draconian budget cuts.
Trustee Rika Levin, who initiated the resolution, said eliminating the funding would have devastating effects on arts in local communities.
“Sixty-five percent of the NEA’s direct grants go to small and medium-sized arts groups, which are often the only source of arts funding in many suburban and rural and undeserved communities,” Levin said. “Every dollar invested by the federal government in the NEA leverages $7 from other sources. Ossining has a vibrant art community and many of our veterans, seniors and teens participate in the arts for therapy, social inclusion and education.”
The board urged every municipality to join the “Right to Bear Arts” nonpartisan campaign of the Creative Coalition and forwarded copies of the resolution to Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Eliminating funding for the NEA will not hurt Broadway or Hollywood, but it hurts small town theaters, museums and community arts organizations,” Levin said. “It hurts our wounded warriors who experience the healing power of the arts through their participation in NEA funded creative arts therapies, and families who count on after school programs for their children.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
