The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has been in its new home at 330 West 42nd Street for nearly three years. As the face of 42nd Street has changed during this time, so too have the faces at DCA. The following is a list of staff members, unit responsibilities, and general contact information for the agency, where appropriate.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
330 West 42nd Street, 14th Floor
New York NY 10036
(212) 643-7770
Web site: www.nyc.gov/html/dcla/home.html
Barney Ashley, Receptionist: (212) 643-7770
DCA Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m

Office of the Commissioner
Schuyler G. Chapin, Commissioner
Nancy Kuhlmann, Executive Assistant
Doris Littlejohn, Executive Secretary: (212) 643-2106

Office of the General Counsel
Alison S. Diamond, General Counsel Vicki Davie, ACCO & Records
Access Officer: (212) 643-7722

Office of the Deputy Commissioner
Susan B. Rothschild, Deputy Commissioner
Ana Mercedes Montes, Executive Assistant: (212) 643-4864

DCA is closed during observed holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

NYC's Zoning Resolution permits professional fine artists to occupy live/work space in the manufacturing districts of SoHo and NoHo in downtown Manhattan and other Artists-in-Residence buildings. DCA offers certification for qualified painters, sculptors, composers, poets, set designers, choreographers, video artists, filmmakers, and other fine artists.

Artist Certification: (212) 643-7789

This unit supports capital improvement projects of institutions and other city-owned cultural facilities. Meeting the construction, renovation, and restoration needs of New York City's cultural community, the unit has key responsibility in developing the budget, planning the projects it funds, coordinating them with other city agencies, and monitoring their design and construction. It is also concerned with long-range maintenance and development of all facilities under its jurisdiction.

Susan Chin, FAIA, Assistant Commissioner
Victor Metoyer, Deputy Director
David Bryant, Capital Program Manager
Louise Woehrle, Capital Program Manager
Edith Henegan, Office Manager
Jean Ferrara, Capital Budget Analyst: (212) 643-6688

The Community Arts Development Program (CADP) provides small grants for space renovation, the acquisition of professional arts equipment, and the production of one large-scale work of art per funding cycle. Applicants must be not-for-profit community arts organizations meeting the federal eligibility requirements of CADP, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. CADP has a total of $425,000 for funding with the maximum grant for space renovation raised to $25,000. The deadline for the next application is mid-May of this year.

Marie Artesi, Director: (212) 643-7720
Carolyn Sarkis, Project Coordinator: (212) 643-7719

This program is designed to encourage private giving to New York City's artistic and cultural organizations through a publicly-funded matching effort. Its key objectives are to strengthen the impact of the arts on New York City's economy and to enhance public access to New York City's extraordinary cultural activities. The Cultural Challenge Program is a highly competitive funding program originated in Fiscal Year 1995 by Mayor Giuliani. It is administered annually by the Department of Cultural Affairs using a panel review process. The program is open to organizations, regardless of discipline or budget size, which meet the eligibility criteria stated in the application guidelines. Application materials are sent to all organizations on DCA's mailing list maintained by the Program Services Unit.

World-renowned art and science museums, theaters, concert halls, zoos, botanical gardens, and historical societies are on the roster of the DCA Cultural Institutions Unit, along with major borough-wide and neighborhood facilities. They represent the city's core cultural infrastructure. The unit's allocations help these institutions meet their basic security, maintenance, administration, and energy costs. This unit also represents the Commissioner at board meetings of the institutions and assists them, from time to time, with managerial and fiscal issues.

TBD, Assistant Commissioner
Tim Thayer, Director
Lynne King, Deputy Director for External Affairs
Maureen Nash, Arts Program Specialist
Clay Conley, Secretary: (212) 643-7714

(Early Stages is housed within the DCA offices)
Early Stages is an arts education organization, founded in 1983, with a primary mission of linking New York City's public school children with the city's rich and vital performing arts resources. Each year, through the Live Theater Program, Early Stages brings 10,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, from all five boroughs, to a wide variety of performances at the city's leading commercial theaters and non-profit performing arts institutions. These performances are free or come at a very low cost to the school. Thanks to the generosity of the performing arts community, Early Stages has brought students to such performances as Miss Saigon, Dinner With Friends, Alvin Ailey Company, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, Blue Man Group, and many others this year alone. Early Stages also provides workshops and residencies through its successful In-School Storytelling and Writing Programs. Web site Address: www.earlystages.org. Visit to find timely program and theater listings and a "Review" section written by participating students.

Jackie Pine & Amy Sultan, Directors: (212) 643-7888

The DCA works closely with the NYC Board of Education, the Center for Arts Education, the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, the United Federation of Teachers, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Alliance for the Arts to maintain and expand arts education opportunities in New York City. This includes supporting the Parents as Arts Partners program administered by the Center for Arts Education; distributing arts-in-education information to the field; assisting teaching artists, arts administrators, teachers, and parents; and administering the Arts Partners Intergenerational program.

Marge Markey, Director: (212) 643-6196

In cooperation with the Department of Sanitation and the NYC Board of Education, MFA accepts donations of reusable materials from businesses, institutions, and individuals. These valuable materials are offered for reuse to non-profit arts and cultural organizations; social, health, and community services with arts programs; individual artists commissioned for public projects; and public schools.

Harriet Taub, Director
Bob Bangiola, Deputy Director
Jesse Charland, Warehouse Manager
Chris Trainor, Assistant Warehouse Manager
Janae Russell, Direct Donations Coordinator
Dirk Smile, Administrative Assistant
New Phone Number: (718) 729-3001

New York City law calls for allocating one percent of the capital budgets for city-funded construction and renovation projects to the commissioning of permanent public artworks. DCA has the responsibility for determining eligible projects and for administering an equitable artist selection process as well as managing the design and construction of the projects. The program maintains an artist slide registry to assist in the selection of artists for Percent for Art commissions.

Charlotte Cohen, Director
Cathie Behrend, Deputy Director
Percent for Art Slide Registry: (212) 643-7769
Barney Ashley, for information: (212) 643-7770
TBD, Director of Personnel: (212) 643-2116

Tapping New York City's extraordinary wealth of diverse cultures, the Program Services unit each year receives proposals from more than 600 cultural organizations and administers more than 500 public service grants to groups that provide cultural experiences for New York City's millions of residents and visitors. These grants support the activities of New York City's most renowned cultural organizations as well as its resident neighborhood groups.

Kathleen Hughes, Assistant Commissioner
Len Detlor, Deputy Director
Deborah Dewees, Program Specialist
Mark Hsiao, Program Specialist
Allyson Spellacy, Program Specialist
Maryjane Salamone-Trainor, Executive Assistant
Velda Charles, Secretary: (212) 643-6194

After months of anticipation and a few false starts, Materials for the Arts is finally moving to its new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. MFA, in cooperation with the Department of Sanitation and the New York City Board of Education, accepts donations of reusable materials from businesses, institutions, and individuals. These materials are offered for reuse to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations; social, health, and community services with arts programs; individual artists commissioned for public projects; as well as to public schools.

Easily accessible by subway and car, the space at 33-00 Northern Boulevard has been renovated to meet the needs of the program. Recipients will be happy to find a huge warehouse floor designed for easy access to materials, a separate paint room, a staging area where new items are weighed and tagged, administrative offices, and a conference room. The space is bright and airy and will accommodate more recipient groups on shopping days. In addition, there are passenger elevators and a freight elevator, along with a loading dock solely for use by MFA recipients and drivers. It is all ADA compliant.

Staffing changes at MFA include naming Harriet Taub as Director, Bob Bangiola as Deputy Director, Janae Russell as Direct Donations Coordinator, Chris Trainor as Assistant Warehouse Manager, and Dirk Smile as Administrative Assistant. Jesse Charland remains the Warehouse Manager. In the coming months, an Education Administrator, Warehouse Helpers, and Mover/Drivers will come on board as well.

MFA plans to re-open by mid-March with more shopping days and varied hours to better meet the needs of all recipient groups. The staff looks forward to seeing you soon.

Directions by subway:
G and R lines: To 36th Street and Northern Boulevard.
E and F lines: To Queens Plaza for transfer to the G or R to 36th Street and Northern Boulevard.
For additional directions by train, bus, or car, or for more information about MFA, please call (718) 729-3001.
Note: MFA's new fax number is (718) 729-3941.

The information contained in the above article is current as of its April 2001 publication date. Please be advised that this information may be out of date.