BILL NUMBER: S8038

SPONSOR: BIAGGI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend chapter 465 of the laws of 1994, amending chapter 285 of
the laws of 1891 relating to charging a fee for admission to the New
York Botanical Garden, in relation to extending certain provisions
authorizing the imposition of a required fee; and to repeal section 2 of
such chapter

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to continue to allow the New York Botanical
Garden authorization to charge or not charge an admission fee.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends section 3 of chapter 465 of the laws of 1994 to elim-
inate the expiration date authorizing the New York Botanical Garden to
charge a fee for admission by the general public to help sustain the
organization's operations and botanical exhibits.
              

Section two sets forth an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is an iconic living museum, a major
educational institution, and a renowned plant research and conservation
organization. Founded in 1891 and now a National Historic Landmark, NYBG
is one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world and the largest in
any city in the United States, distinguished by the beauty of its
diverse landscape and extensive collections and gardens, as well as by
the scope and excellence of its multidisciplinary exhibitions and
programs.

In 1994, the State authorized NYBG to charge nominal and varying fees
for admission to certain exhibits of this organization, provided that
the policy continued free access for primary and secondary school class-
es and conformed to the requirements of any grant of public funds. After
28 years of responsible stewardship, the ability to create earned reven-
ue through an admission fee has been a resounding success, allowing NYBG
to have significant positive impacts on the Bronx such as:

*Full-time NYBG employment has more than doubled since 1993, from 260
employees to 560 employees. More than half are Bronx residents, and
nearly a third are DC37 union employees.
*Earned income now funds more that one-third of NYBG's annual budget and
covers the salaries of 200 plus seasonal and part-time workforce, who
are primarily Bronx residents.
*Total NYBG visitation - including school groups - has almost tripled
from 1993 from 470,000 visitors to 1,300,000.
*NYBG's annual budget has more than tripled from $25,000,000 to
$94,000,000.
*As a result of earned income, NYBG has been transformed from a thread-
bare park to a world class urban oasis known around the world for their
science education and conservation programs, innovative exhibitions, and
commitment to the Bronx.

Earned income from admissions pays for world-class art to be brought
into the Bronx. This process can take five years or more for world-re-
nowned artists like Frida Kahlo, Dale Chihuly, and Yayoi Kusama. Exhibi-
tions at NYBG are made possible only by selling tickets and generating
the earned / contributed income that pays for the full and part-time
staff mentioned previously. Said differently, ticket sales and associ-
ated revenue pay for the long-lead and high costs of displaying world
class art in the Bronx. Should NYBG not be able to charge admissions and
the Garden's exhibition program be eliminated, the impact would be
catastrophic to jobs, regional economic impact, and the Garden's ability
to serve its neighbors and bring tourists from around the world to the
Bronx.

Free grounds admission to the Garden continues to primary and secondary
schools and will remain unchanged. In 2019, about 28,000 school children
registered and visited NYBG grounds free of charge.  An additional
54,000 school children came at no cost to their families through curri-
culum-based programs with their schools. In total, 82,812 primary and
secondary school children visiting free of charge in calendar 2019. Also
in 2019, an additional 258,000 people paid little or nothing to visit
the Garden through one of these offerings:
*Free grounds all day on Wednesdays; free grounds any day for any Bronx
resident;
*Free access for Cool Culture Card holders;
*Free summer access for veterans through the Blue Star Museums program;
*Free passes through NYPL Culture Pass program, NYBG's Community Access
Program, Family Passes, and other free community programming;
*A wide array of reciprocal and special discounts such as American
Public Garden Association, American Horticultural Society, etc.

The free admission NYBG offers many of our constituents comes at a
significant cost to the Garden and NYBG's exhibition program and earned
income pays for this cost. As outlined, current free admission opportu-
nities and programs are robust, and more than fulfill the intent of the
original legislative act.

The Garden must be authorized to continue to charge admission in order
to remain open to the public and a financially viable organization that
can continue to host new living exhibits. This legislation will provide
NYBG the ability to do long-range financial planning and provide NYBG
with parity among other anchor cultural institutions that are not
required to pass legislation to charge admission.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This law has been extended periodically since 1994.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.