New Haven Independent

Posted by: William Hosley | February 4, 2009 5:54 PM

It's no longer about cuts and making due, but sustainability and neighborliness. Consider what it might cost if the International Festival of Arts & Ideas was repitched as (a much more affordable & NOT international) "Festival of NEW HAVEN Arts & Ideas" - designed to showcase the awesome creative and visionary resources HERE, all around town, everyday. An arts and ideas pot luck demonstrates that New Haven is the "ideas capitol of Connecticut." Worth a try? It's an economic tsunami out there. Let's figure out how to make do with less and get this ball rolling.

Posted by: Walt | February 4, 2009 6:21 PM

The idea of eliminating such esoteric items from the State Budget as the New Haven Festival of Arts, or the Arts Council etc, is fine with me.

The Festival agenda every year lists many odd programs of interest only to smaller artsy groups who are unwilling to pay for their own favored, often weird, ideas or entertainment.

Same goes for the Arts Council.

Let those who favor these activities like Mimsie, Cheever, the Hookers and similar folks pay for these services with their own financial support, not force the rest of us to subsidize them.

I would rather my money be used for kids. or education, or for the truly needy.

Posted by: concerned | February 4, 2009 6:45 PM

Marty, as much as I love you, all the legislators/including yourself have just got to STOP with your obsession of taxing as part of the solution. I am middle income and I would not want to see wealthy taxed more in this economy, that is not a solution. Nor would I want any roll back on some exemptions on the state sales tax. What the heck are all you dems doing (I am a dem) and am tired of tax tax tax, spend spend spend.

Posted by: Bill_Heinrichs | February 4, 2009 7:06 PM

It is a mistake for Governor Rell to cut the funding for LEAP, a very cost effective program which gives children the vision and ambition to pursue their educations. I urge all voters to contact their state legislators to oppose this cut.

Posted by: good start | February 4, 2009 7:31 PM

I'm glad to see some gov't folks taking this economic downturn seriously. Its absurd for public systems and employees to expect annual increases. Where do you think this money is coming from?

To quote Margaret Thatcher, "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of Other Peoples Money." We, as a city, and a state, and a nation, are at various stages of learning this lesson. I pray that those in charge will see the light before it is too late.

Posted by: City Hall Watch | February 4, 2009 8:08 PM

I don't understand why Martin Looney's first response to bring up tax increases - time to give us break from that line of thinking. If I need to hear that, I can call DeStefano. That's all he talks about.

Posted by: JackNH | February 4, 2009 8:20 PM

I knew that Arts & Ideas would go, it was just too much of a frill to survive. Maybe it will win in the competitive grant round, but if not let's look forward to it returning when the economy of the state revives-- instead of getting worse, as it is daily.

Posted by: anon | February 4, 2009 11:34 PM

There would be plenty of money to go around if we weren't sending so many hundreds of billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia every year (in the form of gasoline purchases).

Next time our state employees fill up the gas tank on their Hummers to get to Rocky Hill, maybe they should think about giving that $40 to something that's actually useful in the long term instead. Like college education, workforce training, housing, homeless, health care for struggling families, LEAP, or crumbling bridges such as the Ferry Street debacle.

Raise the gas tax to $5.00 per gallon. End the millions of dollars in state subsidies so that state employees' unions can have free parking spaces. Raise DMV fees by 500%. These are the things that would help close the budget gap, not to mention direct more money locally by encouraging people to start spending less on oil sheiks and more on subsidizing someone's education or health care.

Posted by: Time For Change | February 5, 2009 3:38 AM

Well Arts and idea's, LEAP, and Arts Festivall, welcome to New Haven. Maybe we can "all get along now." We maybe we should say that all these programs getting State and City dallors staying tucked away on precious Adubon Street and picking an choosing clientel. Arts and ideas festival has been declining for years and that money should go to the Office of Cultural Affairs to support the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Gospel Fest, Italian Fest, Puerto Rican Day Parade, programs and events in Eldgerton Park among other New Haven events. And yes, even the Freddie Fixer parade. These are events that shape "our culture of New Haven."
Maybe we could or should have found a way to consolodate those funds and use then to open back up some of the CLOSED COMMUNITY CENTERS such as the DIXWELL Q-HOUSE and the Youth Center in the Hill on Carlile Street. That way we would not have to spend so much police overtime to follow young boys on bikes around the Green when we have Arts and Ideas or a simular event on the Green.
It now appears that Audubon Street will have some vacant spaces or new condos. And as for the LEAP building, if there is a question about what happens when the funds go, check out the Q-House. The youth now break in it to hang out. Like all the shut down community centers in the Urban Areas New Haven they are a testament to how much we really care about other peoples children.
Also LEAP appears to get more funding than anyother youth program in New Haven. When was the last time they publically produced an assessment report on the youth they serve? What is the progress of the percentatge of youth they served in 2000 or even 2006? And angain, hand picking the lot. Why are they not working with kids from Farnham Court projects or "Ten Murders-Fair Haven?" Just because a program aims to target Black kids does not automatically make it a success.
Playyime is over. Downtown come to the COMMUNITY (that includes Fair Haven, Dixwell, Newhallville, Hill,) you get the message.

Posted by: Tye | February 5, 2009 5:49 AM

Cutting the LEAP from the budget would be a big mistake. This organization is the last hope our youth have to keep them off the streets and on the right path. As a working parent of LEAP children this is the only program that stays with the children from the time they enter the program at age 7 until the either go to college or graduate an retain a job within the same organization. Eliminating these programs has a devastating effect on our youth and community. I was a latch key kid which ran out of the Y and they cut that in the 80's and look at the effect it had. Youths turned to the streets and drugs.Now that building is a halfway house, go figure. I urge all of New Haven to rally with Mr.Clemons and protest this outrageous cut. The only people will suffer will be our youth who have very little to turn to. If we do not help save our children who will. We certainly can not rely on the State. Next the will be looking to close schools again as they have before.

Posted by: jawbone | February 5, 2009 9:17 AM

Time for Change,
I, for one, don't agree that the St. Patrick's Day Parade "shapes our culture of New Haven". Not unless barfing and deficating in public, burning sofas on the corner of Chapel and High, dealing with drunken mooks from the outer reaches of the 'stavens, and leaving the city with a fine groundcover of thrown beercans and cups counts as "culture".
That Parade is an embarrassment.
At least Arts and Ideas is an event that I can take my kids to...
Other than that I think you make some good points.

Posted by: Sally Tamarkin | February 5, 2009 9:33 AM

Time for Change,
LEAP does work in Farnam Courts--it's one of their five sites (Elm Haven, Newhallville, Dwight Kensington and Church Street South are the others). Obviously accountability and transparency are important. If the anecdotal evidence from LEAP kids, parents, staff and alum aren't satisfactory, that's fine and it makes sense to want evidence of their outcomes. But slashing an enormous chunk of funding and THEN demanding assessments is sort of doing things backwards.

(Disclosure: I used to work for LEAP.)

Posted by: Cheri | February 5, 2009 10:12 AM

New Haven used to utilize the Green more. Local bands, jazz, food vendors, etc. This was a fairly cheap way to get people together during the warmer months. Maybe New Haven should utilize the Green more this coming Spring/Summer, as well as Lighthouse Point, East Rock, etc. Lower cost events and cuts in Arts & Ideas does not mean New Haven can't have a good time.

Posted by: Mister Jones | February 5, 2009 10:30 AM

Walt, and Time for Change, you got it wrong about the Arts & Ideas Fest. Esoteric? In decline? You could not have been there and said that. Except for the unfortunate rainouts, the free events were well attended and appealed to diverse interests. They include all sorts of local music, dance and performance groups in the Village of Villages part of the festival on weekends on the Green. My kids were thrilled to have played music and danced as part of the festival. Each time it was a great family day attended by people from all walks of life.

We might disagree with the wisdom of taxpayer subsidies--I think it's worth every penny and gives back to the people of the region--but don't dump on the festival, one of the beautiful things we do here.

Posted by: Anna | February 5, 2009 10:49 AM

Interesting--yesterday The Hartford Courant reported that Arts and Ideas would get an increase!

From the article:
The state's main tourism districts, the Connecticut Humanities Council and the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas, will receive slight increases in their state support under Rell's budget.
The full article:
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-webartsidefeb05,0,448661.story

Posted by: nfjanette | February 5, 2009 11:36 AM

Consider what it might cost if the International Festival of Arts & Ideas was repitched as (a much more affordable & NOT international) "Festival of NEW HAVEN Arts & Ideas" - designed to showcase the awesome creative and visionary resources HERE, all around town, everyday.

That's the idea that my wife and I pitched to John DeStefano when he was running the (then newly built) tennis center. We proposed a walk-through fair on the grounds of the center (during tennis events) featuring tents with crafts by local artists (like the various craft fairs at local town greens) and performances by local "folk" musicians. The idea never got far, although we like to think it help plant the seed of thought with him that later grew into the more sophisticated Festival of Arts and Ideas.

Posted by: Research Assistant | February 5, 2009 1:56 PM

"• Suspending binding arbitration for two years. That means when a municipal union's contract expires, it would be frozen until 2011. The initiative would resort to a wage-freeze. (Harp called the proposal "Dead On Arrival.")"

We're never going to get anywhere when our state delegation cares more about the government employee unions than they do about people who actually live and pay taxes in New Haven.

I'm sick of paying hand over fist in property taxes to subsidize the lives of people who live in North Branford, Milford, etc. People on the government payroll are going to have give some, too. I don't get binding arbitration when my office increases health care premiums, freezes salaries, etc. (newsflash: we're in the midst of a once-in-a-generation financial crisis!) and I don't see what state statute guarantees it to municipal unions.

Posted by: What? | February 5, 2009 2:34 PM

Um Time for Change --

LEAP works in Farnam Courts. It also works in Newhallville, Dixwell and the Hill. But nice try. You took your argument too far -- all the way into the realm of "I have no idea what I am talking about."

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | February 5, 2009 4:31 PM

The Festival needs more than just money. For the last few years, it's been on life-support, living on without much imagination. and yes, I've attended constantly over the past few years.

The acts it brings in have been increasingly quirky, flashy or noisy, but without little meaning. Shakespeare set in a pizza parlor -- in Lithuanian? Village of Villages, a rock concert where each local band attempts to outblare the other acts.

It's nothing like it used to be. Maybe it's time to give it a rest. I am less interested in it each year.

As to the city -- it spends great gobs of money trying to attract a big name to play -- didn't Brubeck get $40,000 or some astronomical figure for that hour he stood up and poked his one unarthritic finger at the keyboard? The city arts people don't seem to be particularly interested, with a few exceptions, unless they can attract beer companies and name players, but the venue of the Green is simply too small.

Posted by: Walt | February 5, 2009 5:49 PM

Mister Jones and others

It is fine that you think the Arts Festival worthwhile.

Support it with your own money,

Don't expect "Time for Change" and I, and taxpayers around the State, who think the lengthy list of esoteric offerings each year are of little worth, to pay for it out of our bucks while you are entertained at little or no cost.

Don't you feel even a bit ashamed for free-loading all those years in the past and sticking us for the costs?

Are you willing to kick in your own major $,$$$,$$$ for your fun?

Posted by: Peter Villon | February 5, 2009 9:43 PM

New Haven is a gateway community, a gateway to New York and a gateway to Boston, a gateway to Asia, South America, Europe,the Middle East, and, more interestingly, it is a gateway to itself. New Haven has a history of expansive, creative thinking and creativity that links it to all the places just mentioned. Wake up, people: New Haven is international, if it want to be or not, so any mewling reference to the International Festival of Arts and Ideas being reduced to just New Haven is simplistic. And any one who refers to money coming out of our pockets to fund it is uninformed. We are paying for the unstructured bailout of fat pigs in cushy jobs, but the pittance given to the Festival comes back to New Haven 8-fold: look it up, people, it's on public record: 1 mil in, 18 mil out to the community. And do you really want to take away all the great free stuff? I met a single mother with three kids who told me the Festival was safe, bright and great for her kids. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! This Festival is cost-effective and gives good weight. The uninformed and parochial views of the bozo bloggers does not respect the city that had the vision and wherewithal to come up and fund this beauty.

Posted by: DEZ | February 6, 2009 9:11 AM

Hear, Hear, Peter Villon! I'm hopeful that creative thinkers like Mary Lou Aleskie can and will win financial support in the lottery system of funding. The International Festival benefits all of New Haven, even those too obtuse to realize this fact. The colorful, vibrant, inclusive use of the Green alone makes this festival a winner.

Posted by: Mister Jones | February 6, 2009 9:37 AM

Walt--I can't say it any better than Peter Villon, but freeloading? Support it with my own money? I do. Besides paying to get in to ticketed events, look at what we do for the free events. We bring our family and friends downtown. We shop along the way at New Haven stores for snacks and drinks. We buy food from the vendors at the events. Then we go to dinner after at a downtown spot. And that's not counting the fringe benefit of bringing thousands of people out of their insular neighborhoods and suburbs for a positive New Haven first hand experience instead of the nightly news crime report.

Credenza and others--is it esoteric just because you don't like it, or it's not top 40? Maybe you liked Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Kool & the Gang, and the 5th Dimension concerts in years past, but their crowds got too big and they had to scale back. Lately Hamden is getting bigger crowds with their summer concerts, but I dare say the acts and audiences are not nearly as diverse as those in New Haven, which truly attract people from all walks of life. Those summer concerts are different, though, than the Arts & Ideas Fest.

Programming a festival and booking acts is tricky business. I judge a festival lineup by how many offerings I want to see, and last year's was among the best. It's way too bad Mavis Staples got rained out, but if you missed the participatory dance finale it was your loss. Sure, you might not have liked it, maybe too "esoteric" for your tastes, but don't we get enough mainstream mush beamed into our lives 24/7? The thousands there seemed to like it.

And your take on Village of Villages is just wrong: "a rock concert where each local band attempts to outblare the other acts." Besides rock, I've seen jazz, steel drum, gospel, tango and folk music, martial arts, all sorts of ethnic dance: Ukrainian, Greek, tap, hip-hop and more. Because they go on all day on multiple stages, you can wander around until you see something you like [and are out of earshot of one you might not like...]

Let's also not forget that festivals and concerts mean local jobs for the people to work and run things, from festival staff to stage techs and ticket-takers to the folks that clean the bathrooms. Besides the monetary and non-monetary benefits to the community at large, there's a direct economic stimulus plan that provides enjoyment.

Posted by: JZ | February 6, 2009 10:27 AM

There's nothing wrong with forcing the festival into a competitive process to get state funding. Hopefully, they'll win back what they've lost. If not, the festival will have to scale back or end. Sad, but not heartbreaking.

Posted by: Walt | February 6, 2009 10:38 AM

What phonies!

If you and the restaurants, and the hotels, and the stores benefit, you are the ones who should be paying, not us.

Good for Rell. Get these leeches off our backs.

Posted by: Steve Ross, Artfriend of Red Rock | February 6, 2009 1:01 PM

While I cringe at the thought of art being relegated to esoterica, I'm surprised to see that no one's yet brought up Ideat Village, New Haven's homespun alternative to Arts and Ideas. I mean, I like an Edward O. Wilson presentation as much as the next guy, but a Burt's Bees tent on the green? Come on....

For over half a decade Bill Saunders and Nancy Shea have secured permits, notable city locations, hundreds of bands and artists to expose New Haven to a portion of its underground, subversive, or simply unknown artists. It's interactive, broadly appealing, at times esoteric, and every year that I have been there, it's been the highlight of the summer. Kids dance. Seniors listen to doom bands. Thirty year old skaters risk broken ankles. Dozens read poetry, sing elimination Karoke, and offer art not to juries or the elite, but anyone who's interested in taking the time to look. Democratic, free to attend, and often hilarious.

Check out http://www.ideatvillage.org/ for more info.

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | February 6, 2009 1:07 PM

MR JONEs: "Credenza and others--is it esoteric just because you don't like it, or it's not top 40? Maybe you liked Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Kool & the Gang, and the 5th Dimension concerts in years past, but their crowds got too big and they had to scale back."

You're way off the mark. I am not advocating for any act like those you mention above. Surely the Festival is not the place for an act which doesn't really need any exposure. Real artistic ability with meaning-- that's what it used to be -- not a shmorgasbord of circus acts, which is what is has become.

On the other hand, an act of dubious artistic merit, such as Pizza Parlor Shakespeare, should be in a fringe festival, not at Arts & Ideas. There are a lot them now. How about a Tajikistanian wire act between the three churches while reciting Ezra Pound in morse code, naked? That's something Arts & Ideas might now consider seriously.

Village of Villages -- a reaction to budget cuts, entertainment without paying the local artists -- has become, for those performers, frighteningly loud, despite the attempt to place stages farther apart. Every act was loud, with few exceptions, each trying, on the many days I was there, to outblast the other. I know of several who will not return because of this. Exec. mgmt. has known of this problem for several years but has been unable to fix it.

Posted by: Tye | February 6, 2009 1:34 PM

I find it very dishearting that everyone is going back and forth about the Arts Festival but no one has came with any Ideas on how to save LEAP. If we don't save our youth from the streets of New Haven today there may not be to many around to enjoy, participate,or oragnize any type or festival in New Haven. We need to start thinking about the future of these children.

Posted by: JZ | February 6, 2009 3:52 PM

Tye, as worthy as Leap is, I wouldn't rely on a bunch of posters here to solve $ woes. Call them up and volunteer. Plan your trip to Hartford and get involved with fundraising activities. Most people I know are supporters of at least one non-profit, all worthy causes. We have to pick and choose where to spend time and money.

Posted by: robn | February 7, 2009 9:47 AM

LEAP is a good organization and they can use help. Donate here if you can.

http://www.leapforkids.org/CMSLite/default.asp?CMSLite_Page=27&Info=LEAP+Supporters