Mayor Adams, DCLA Announce Biggest Expansion of City’s Cultural Institutions Group in Five Decades

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Commissioner Laurie Cumbo today announced five new members of the city’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), the largest expansion of the CIG in nearly five decades, as he delivered on another promise made in his 2025 State of the City address. CIG members — which operate on city-owned property — receive substantial subsidies and capital investment from the city; in return for this support, they provide cultural programming for all New Yorkers. With these five new institutions — BRIC, the Bronx Children’s Museum, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Noble Maritime Collection, and Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT) — there are now 39 members of the CIG in total. At a moment when many cultural organizations across the country are facing steep challenges, the historic expansion announced today will provide long-term, stable support for the city’s cultural sector, make sure the CIG is more reflective of the city it serves, and help more cultural organizations provide free and affordable programming for families to enjoy.

“When it comes to culture, there’s nowhere like New York. From iconic museums to legendary theaters, our city’s Cultural Institutions Group gives New Yorkers and tourists alike a safe, accessible place to spend time. With this historic expansion, we’ll help even more cultural organizations provide affordable programming for families, good-paying jobs for New Yorkers, and safe spaces for young people to learn and stay off the streets,” said Mayor Adams. “Crucially, we’ll make sure that our city’s Cultural Institutions Group reflects the rich diversity of our cultural sector and that every borough benefits from these investments.”

The CIG is one of the city’s strongest and longest-lasting public-private partnerships, made up of museums, historical societies, performing arts centers, botanic gardens, and zoos on city-owned property. Originally established in 1869 with the American Museum of Natural History, the CIG has grown sporadically over the years, notably with a concerted push by advocates and activists to expand the CIG in the 1960s and 1970s to create a more diverse cultural network. The last new CIGs added were the Weeksville Heritage Center in 2019 and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 1997. As part of his 2025 State of the City address, Mayor Adams committed to adding up to five additional organizations to the CIG network; today’s announcement fulfills that key commitment.

The five new CIG members announced today — one in each borough — have a range of disciplines and missions rooted in offering cultural enrichment and affordable programming for all New Yorkers:

BRIC is one of Brooklyn’s leading arts and media institutions. With roots tracing back to the launch of Celebrate Brooklyn! in Prospect Park in 1979, BRIC now serves over 130,000 people annually. As Brooklyn’s Public Access Center, BRIC’s ‘Brooklyn Free Speech’ champions creative access for all communities. Its programming encompasses visual art exhibitions, performing arts events, artist residencies, youth and media education, and the Emmy award-winning BRIC TV. From its Downtown Brooklyn headquarters and partnerships with over 40 schools and local institutions, BRIC continues to shape the city’s cultural landscape. With BRIC’s CIG designation, BRIC will be able to expand free and low-cost media classes, increase public access to their facilities, and ensure that BRIC is able to present world-class performances and events that are free and accessible to all.

Bronx Children’s Museum has proudly served more than 325,000 children and families since its opening in 2005, providing New Yorkers with a place for young people and caregivers to explore, imagine, and learn together through immersive science, technology, engineering, mathematic, and artistic experiences. With this designation, the Bronx Children’s Museum will be able to expand hours of operation, increase organizational capacity, sustain affordable access for families and school groups, and help secure the organization’s long-term stability.

Louis Armstrong House Museum is a national and New York landmark celebrating the life and legacy of Louis Armstrong, a founding figure of jazz and America’s first Black popular music icon. Anchored by the Queens home where Armstrong and his wife lived for three decades, the museum is now a three-building campus that includes a 75-seat performance space, a multimedia exhibition, and a 60,000-piece archive — the largest of any single jazz musician in the world. The new Louis Armstrong Center, a state-of-the-art building that opened in July 2023, marks the museum’s physical and programmatic expansion into a creative incubator for artistic excellence and has allowed the museum to dramatically expand programs that honor Armstrong’s legacy and promote excellence, education, and community.

Noble Maritime Collection is an art and history museum located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island. Founded in 1986, the museum is dedicated to celebrating the working waterfront of New York Harbor and preserving Robbins Reef Lighthouse and the history of Sailors’ Snug Harbor. The centerpiece of the museum is Noble’s restored houseboat studio, which is complemented by 11 permanent and changing exhibitions, arts education programs for schoolchildren, and diverse and vibrant public offerings. The museum maintains a pay-what-you-wish admission policy and recently expanded its hours to welcome more visitors year-round. With the museum’s CIG designation, the Noble Maritime Collection will be able to continue its admission-by-donation policy, sustain its newly-expanded hours, invest in visitor services to help increase annual attendance by 30 percent, strengthen stewardship of the museum’s city-owned, landmark building, and hire more local teaching artists and work towards the goal of doubling the number of students it serves each year through innovative arts education programs — most of which are offered for free to underserved schools.

Pregones/PRTT is a multi-generational performing ensemble and multi-discipline arts presenter with venues in the South Bronx and Manhattan’s Theater District. Its mission is to champion a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural legacy through the creation and performance of original plays and musicals; exchange and partnership with other artists; and engagement of diverse audiences. PRTT was founded in 1967 as one of the first bilingual theater companies in the country while Pregones Theater was founded in 1979 when a group of artists set out to create and tour new works in the style of Caribbean and Latin American colectivos, or performing ensembles. Following their merger in 2014, Pregones/PRTT today helps empower diverse artists and audiences to claim a place at the front of the American theater. Pregones/PRTT’s CIG designation will strengthen the organization’s ability to keep live theater and music bold, affordable, and welcoming — as well as to nurture new generations of artists whose stories and voices are vital to New York City’s cultural life.

The five new CIGs are all located on city property and previously received annual support through DCLA’s Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grant program in addition to an energy subsidy. As a member of the CIG, each organization will now receive an annual operating subsidy in lieu of CDF grant. The five organizations were added following a rigorous analysis of operations, visitorship, and other factors completed by DCLA in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.

“The CIG is a cornerstone of our city’s cultural community, and these new members give us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to foster greater equity in this important source of city support for the arts in all five boroughs,” said DCLA Commissioner Cumbo. “The city’s 150+ year relationship with the CIG has created cultural institutions that strengthen our communities, drive our economy, and connect with New Yorkers across the city. With this historic expansion of the CIG, we’re setting up these five new members — which span disciplines, geographies, and audiences — to grow their programs and serve as vital, sustainable hubs for culture and community for generations to come. This is a huge step toward making our city the best place to raise a family, to make experiencing our city’s cultural treasures more accessible than ever before, and creating a legacy for all New Yorkers we can be proud of.”

“The current 34 museums, gardens, and performing arts centers that make up the Cultural Institutions Group are thrilled to welcome five new organizations into our fold. The CIGs represent a unique and critical investment of the City of New York into the cultural sector, a sector that truly makes New York what it is...the greatest city in the world!” said Coco Killingsworth, chair, Cultural Institutions Group. “The investment in new CIGs, as well as a historic $75 million budget increase, with $45 million baselined, for the Department of Cultural Affairs, clearly shows that City Hall values, prioritizes, and supports arts and culture today, and for future generations.”

“Being welcomed into the New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group is a historic milestone for both the Bronx Children’s Museum and our borough,” said Denise Rosario Adusei, executive director, Bronx Children’s Museum. “This investment not only enhances New York City as a place to raise children but also pays tribute to the remarkable families who call the Bronx home.”

“The Noble Maritime Collection is a museum built by the community, for the community, and on behalf of all those who have rolled up their sleeves and lent a hand in pursuit of its mission over the past 40 years, we are deeply honored and grateful to have our hard work recognized with membership in the Cultural Institutions Group,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., executive director, Noble Maritime Collection.  “I thank Mayor Adams and Commissioner Cumbo for this extraordinary investment in the museum’s future. This partnership will expand public access to our unique museum on Staten Island, where visitors can see artist and sailor John A. Noble’s houseboat studio and experience exhibitions and programs that celebrate New York City’s maritime heritage.”

“As a member of the volunteer Noble Crew that undertook an adaptive reuse project to turn a former Sailors’ Snug Harbor dormitory into the Noble Maritime Collection’s home in the 1990s, I especially appreciate that being a part of the Cultural Institutions Group will provide the museum with stable funds to help maintain its beautifully restored landmark building,” said Steve Kalil, chairman, Noble Maritime Museum Board; president, Caddell Dry Dock and Repair Company. “We are proud to join our fellow Snug Harbor campus neighbors as members of the Cultural Institutions Group — including the Staten Island Children’s Museum, Staten Island Museum, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden — and look forward to continue collaborating with them to bring audiences to our extraordinary campus from across the city and beyond.

“Joining the CIG is a historic milestone for BRIC. It recognizes us among the institutions that have shaped New York City’s cultural legacy,” said Wes Jackson, president, BRIC. “For Brooklyn, it means greater investment in our creative future. For the city, it brings something new — a media and cultural partner grounded in community and innovation.”

“This milestone secures a bright future for Pregones/PRTT and strengthens our ability to serve the diverse communities of the Bronx, Manhattan, and beyond,” said Arnaldo J. López, Ph.D., managing director, Pregones/PRTT. “It is a powerful vote of confidence in our mission, ensuring that we can keep our doors open wide, welcome audiences of all backgrounds, and champion accessible, affordable, and extraordinary live arts for all New Yorkers.”

“We are thrilled and deeply honored to join the city’s Cultural Institutions Group. This historic recognition affirms decades of artistic invention, cultural pride, and community building by our ensemble and by so many who came before us,” said Rosalba Rolón, artistic director, Pregones/PRTT. “It is also a promise to future generations: that the stories, music, and traditions of Puerto Rican and Latinx communities will always have a home in New York City.”

The city’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Adopted Budget — which builds on the Adams administration’s FY 2026 Executive Budget — often called the “Best Budget Ever” and which passed unanimously by the New York City Council earlier this year — invests a record $299.6 million in DCLA, including a permanent funding increase of $45 million. That long-term, or baseline, funding increase — the first substantial baseline funding increase for DCLA in over a decade — was originally announced as part of Mayor Adams’ Best Budget Ever in May and included in the final, adopted budget as well. The FY 2026 Adopted Budget also invests an additional $30 million into DCLA, bringing the total new investment in the agency to $75 million this fiscal year alone. The additional funding will bolster the CDF, which supports more than 1,000 cultural organizations and neighborhood-based groups citywide, as well as CIG members. Collectively, these investments help bolster the city’s cultural sector, attract tourists, and fulfill the Adams administration’s commitment to make New York City the best place to raise a family.

Mayor Adams Best Budget Ever also includes $3.1 billion for cultural institutions and libraries through the 10-Year Capital Plan. The Adams administration has prioritized supporting cultural institutions across the five boroughs by, among other things, breaking ground on renovations, expansions, and other city-supported capital projects at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, The Bronx Museum, the  Nuyorican Poets Café, the Weeksville Heritage Center, and more in 2024. Additionally, last year, the Adams administration announced more than $52 million in grants for 1,031 cultural organizations through its annual CDF grant making program and diverted over 5.9 million pounds of materials from landfills, making them available to educators, nonprofits, and artists through its Materials for the Arts program free of charge.

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