Preserving Puerto Rican arts institutions
Published in "El Diario" - Thursday, October 13th

In a bold move toward self-preservation, members of the Clemente Soto Velez cultural center have voted to give power over what happens at the center to the visual and performing artists and non-profit groups who reside there. The move resolves a dispute and changes the bylaws so that the artists and representatives of non-profit groups elect the board of directors.
The action is part of a larger effort to preserve three vital Puerto Rican institutions - Clemente Soto Velez (CSV), the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre and the Julia De Burgos Cultural Center. All are located in previously distressed areas of Manhattan that are now in various stages of gentrification. As the neighborhoods become trendy and property values go up, the future of these institutions is threatened.

All three have month-to-month leases for their city-owned buildings, but are lobbying the Bloomberg administration for long-term leases as part of the effort to ensure their future existence. The groups banded together shortly after CSV named Luis Cancel, the former New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner, as its executive director in June.

CSV is located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge on the Lower East Side. Founded in 1993, it serves as an incubator for visual and performing arts in the city. The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre is located in Hell`s Kitchen. Founded in 1967, it is the only Latino company located in the heart of the city`s theater district. And the Julia De Burgos Cultural Center is located in East Harlem and serves as an anchor for the arts there. The center opened in 1997 as a project of Taller Boricua, founded in 1969.

By providing these Latino arts organizations with the long-term leases they seek, the Bloomberg administration has a unique opportunity to recognize the rich contributions of Puerto Rican and Latino artists, and to solidify the future of these vital institutions.