Author: Stephens, Suzanne

Publication Year: 1977

Media Type: Report

Summary:

The New York State Cultural Resources Act (SCRA) provides a possible solution to the financial woes of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City by allowing the construction of a forty-three story condominium and apartment tower on top of a new gallery wing of the museum. The Act, along with a companion statute, the New York City Cultural Resources Act (CCRA) , provides for the creation of a nonprofit state agency, the Trust for Cultural Resources. The two acts were designed to unlock the commercial potential of valuable real estate owned by nonprofit arts institutions in New York City.

Abstract:

The New York State Cultural Resources Act (SCRA) provides a possible solution to the financial woes of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City by allowing the construction of a forty-three story condominium and apartment tower on top of a new gallery wing of the museum. The Act, along with a companion statute, the New York City Cultural Resources Act (CCRA) , provides for the creation of a nonprofit state agency, the Trust for Cultural Resources. The two acts were designed to unlock the commercial potential of valuable real estate owned by nonprofit arts institutions in New York City.

The Trust for Cultural Resources is empowered by the acts to purchase air and/or property rights from participating cultural institutions, to provide for the commercial development of that property, and to use the income to cover the costs of expansion and the operating expenses of the institution. While MOMA is the only cultural institution presently eligible to take advantage of this legislation, others may meet its somewhat rigid requirements in the future, as its qualifying restrictions could easily be amended to embrace a large number of other cultural institutions in New York State, and particularly New York City.

Since the legislation could easily be explained within its terms, it has a great potential impact on urban design. The Cultural Resources legislation could drastically affect the physical character of the state's cultural institutions, the neighborhoods in which they are located, and the cities to which they belong. (p. 605-606).

CONTENTS
1. Introduction.
2. The natural consequences of the SCRA and the CCRA.
3. The structure of incentive zoning.
4. Incentive zoning and cultural resources legislation - long-term effects on the urban
    environment.
5. Cultural resources legislation and the decline of the neighborhood environment.
6. Conclusion.

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Legislation, Financial Management