Senate Resolution No. 753

BY: Senator PARKER

COMMENDING the Brooklyn Arts Council upon the
occasion of hosting Women of Jazz on March 24, 2019

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to commemorate
those events which add strength, vigor and inspiration to the cultural
diversity and quality of life in the communities of the State of New
York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend the Brooklyn Arts Council upon the occasion of hosting Women of
Jazz on Sunday, March 24, 2019, at Arts East New York Cultural Center in
Brooklyn, New York; and

WHEREAS, For more than five decades, Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) has
fostered the cultural life of Brooklyn; this vital organization was
founded in 1966, in the basement of Flatbush resident Charlene Victor
who was determined to see the arts included in the Prospect Park
centennial celebration; she gathered together local artists and
community leaders to plan a series of events featuring Brooklyn artists;
and

WHEREAS, In its early years, BAC primarily presented arts
programming; it ran the Downtown Cultural Center, also known as BACA
Downtown, where Spike Lee, Danny DeVito and Suzan-Lori Parks got their
start in the performing arts; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, BAC expanded to include grant-making on behalf of
the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department
of Cultural Affairs; these funding opportunities, known as BAC Community
Arts Grants, doubled in size in 1984; and

WHEREAS, In 2003, BAC launched the JPMorgan Chase Regrant Program
which provides grants to support other organizations as well as artists
and arts administrators at every level of their careers; and

WHEREAS, Today, under the luminous leadership of Executive Director
Charlotte A. Cohen, BAC offers the residents of Brooklyn a wealth of
arts programming and support services in education, professional
development, grant-making, fiscal sponsorship, film and media arts and
folk/traditional arts; and

WHEREAS, Since its inception, BAC has changed in many ways, but has
always remained true to its mission of promoting and sustaining the arts
in Brooklyn; and serving the arts, and through the arts, to serve the
community as a whole; and

WHEREAS, It is most fitting that we take time to celebrate the arts
of our Nation, to honor our artists, and to express our appreciation to
everyone who patronizes the arts; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend the Brooklyn Arts Council upon the occasion of hosting Women of
Jazz on March 24, 2019; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Charlotte A. Cohen, Executive Director, Brooklyn Arts
Council.