NYIVA State Letter

We write today on behalf of the New York Independent Venue Association (NYIVA), a
membership organization representing 200+ performance venues, promoters, and

festivals, to request a $250M in dedicated industry support for our industry. New York
State support is critical for the sector to recover from the significant and unique
economic damage experienced by our members and their employees resulting from
COVID-19 and a yearlong government mandated closure of our entire industry.
Our industry partners were among the first businesses to close and will be the last to
reopen. Targeted assistance will accelerate the industry’s ability to open safely and
begin the months long ramp-up process required to book tours, market live events, and
get audiences comfortable sitting together again. Our role is not merely cultural; our
members play a key economic role as well. According to a recent study in Chicago, Arts
in the Loop, for every $1 spent on a ticket at an independent venue, a total of $12 in
additional economic activity is generated in the community. Without these cultural
venues and producers; bars, restaurants, hotels, retail shops, parking facilities, and
others have been and continue to be grossly and negatively impacted.
Although federal legislators have taken small steps in supporting a portion of our
ecosystem with the recent passing of shuttered venue operators grants, the funding is
simply not enough and the application process for SVO still has not even begun. 50% of
our members believe they will NOT qualify for the SVO grant. 65% of our members
believe they will still have significant debt despite SVO.
We are seeking a three-part program in targeted assistance for live performance and
performance-related businesses and nonprofits:
• Capital and Capacity Building Grants
• Operating Bridge Grants
• Tax Incentives
CAPITAL and CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS are direct investments: physical life-
safety improvements necessary to meet health standards and regulations, ensuring the
safety of employees, artists, and patrons. The program will consist of four-tiers of grants
- $50K, $100K, $150K, $250K based on organization or businesses operating expenses
from 2019:
· $50K for operating expenses $500K or below
· $100K for operating expenses between $500K and $1M
· $150K for operating expenses between $1M and $2M
· $250K for operating expenses over $2M
Eligible expense for grant use include:

· Labor and benefits
· Physical improvements necessary for health and safety
· Brick and Mortar improvements including HVAC, Plexiglas, touchless point of
sale and ticketing, cleaning supplies, and employee PPE
· Existing loans incurred after February 2020 due to COVID-19
· Expenses incurred after February 2020 not otherwise covered by state or
federal funding
· Expenses for future events (including artist payments), contracts, or orders
· Ticket refunds
OPERATING BRIDGE GRANTS Will cover 12 months of operating expenses (from

April 2021 to April 2022) not covered by other government grants or loans (ie, PPP
Loans or Shuttered Venue Operating Grants), including, but not limited tto be capped at
$10M:
Eligible expenses include:
· Labor (FT, PT, and 1099)
· Rent or Mortgage payments
· Licenses, Permits, and Fees
· Utilities
· Insurance
· PPE
· Facility repairs and upgrades
TAX INCENTIVES:
· Property tax incentives for venue and arts-related business landlords
· Income tax relief for all businesses (same identifiers as grants) for two years
after 100% capacity allowed for one full year
· Income tax relief for investors in commercial theater productions that mirrors
tax credits received by film investors and producers.
Candidates for grants would be defined as nonprofit or private for-profit, independently

operated live-performance venues, promoters, production companies, and/or
performance-related businesses located in New York State who were forced to shut
down, operate at reduced capacity, or directly impacted due to government-mandated
health orders.
Candidates must identify as arts and culture organizations or arts-related businesses
whose primary business is presenting or supporting live performances by discipline-
based artists, and must show that 70% of their business is generated from live events,
and may not be owned, operated by, or majority programmed by a publicly traded
company. These types of organizations include venues, producers, promoters, and the
ancillary businesses included but not limited to casting, marketing, production elements,
and others.
Over 20 other states and localities understand the deep impact of the creative cultural
sector on state and local economies and have invested in their critical arts
infrastructure. Many of these areas are much less dependent on the live-performance
ecosystem than our own, New York, which recognizes more than $100Billion in the arts
and cultural related revenues.. These states have all realized the deep impact our
industry has on state and local economies and made the choice to help the sector
survive.

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We write today on behalf of the New York Independent Venue Association (NYIVA), a

membership organization representing 200+ performance venues, promoters, and

Eligible expense for grant use include:

OPERATING BRIDGE GRANTS Will cover 12 months of operating expenses (from

Candidates for grants would be defined as nonprofit or private for-profit, independently

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