New York Creates Agency to Aid Arts Groups

A new city office within New York’s Economic Development Corporation will focus on helping nonprofit arts groups cope with high costs and declining support, The New York Times reports.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the agency, which will include at least two employees, at a conference at the Museum of Modern Art. Mr. Bloomberg said the office would help market the city as “the nation’s art and cultural capital.” A December 2005 report described the “creative sector” as a critical component of the city’s economy, the Times reports, leading to this week’s conference.