New York creatives squeezed out by high cost of living

After 20 years as a makeup artist for TV and cinema, Noel Jacoboni sees few other options than to leave New York City, where she has been "priced out" by the soaring cost of living. 

Affordability issues, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a core part of his election campaign, are increasingly driving those in the creative arts like Jacoboni to bid farewell to one of the world's cultural capitals. 

Since 2019, the number of New Yorkers working in creative fields ranging from design to fashion has fallen by 6.1 percent, according to a December report by the Center for an Urban Future. 

Eli Dvorkin, an author of the paper, said that artists were "hit harder during the (Covid-19) pandemic than nearly any other workforce in the city."

Since then, "costs have risen far faster than incomes, and artists are really feeling the squeeze," he told AFP. 

About 326,000 people are employed in the cultural and creative sector in New York, but many are being drawn to other cities like Miami, Dallas and Nashville. 

A key factor, the report noted, is that creatives in New York make around 23 percent less than the national average when accounting for the cost of living. That number was 15 percent less a decade ago. 

That has come as inflation across the United States has remained stubbornly high post-pandemic, and New York in particular has seen rents rise on high demand, supply shortages and other factors.

Salaries for those in the arts have just not kept up.

According to the report, median household rent in New York rose 42 percent in the last decade, with creative salaries rising just 25 percent -- well below the citywide average gain of 44 percent.

- 'Lack of work' -

Speaking to a city committee on cultural affairs in February, Jacoboni complained about a "lack of work due to the rising cost of production in the city."

"We're losing talented individuals in our city," she said. 

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Since 2020, the number of cinema and TV workers has declined by 19.1 percent, according to the Center for an Urban Future report. 

A similar trend was seen in advertising, down 15.7 percent, and design, which dropped 14.3 percent. 

New York has seen more than 50 theaters, music clubs, museums and galleries close since 2020, the report said, citing the rising cost of rent, salaries and insurance.

Even major players in New York's cultural scene are impacted.

Just four Broadway musicals launched in the past six years have turned a profit, while key institutions like the Met Opera and the Guggenheim Museum have announced layoffs in recent months. 

- 'Creative capital' -

Mayor Mamdani has signaled that he is working to address affordability issues for creatives. 

His media and entertainment head, Rafael Espinal, said in January he wants to "keep New York the creative capital of the world."

"Not just a place where great work gets made, but a place where the people who make that work can actually live in," he said. 

Espinal, who led the Freelancers Union for independent workers, said he wants to "secure and expand good-paying union jobs" and ensure training for underrepresented communities. 

Another initiative supported by Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York City Council, envisions reserving more rent-controlled housing for artists. 

The Center for an Urban Future has also proposed creating a major cultural festival across the city's five boroughs to revitalize the arts sector. 

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