Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council will provide the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) with its highest-ever yearly appropriation as part of the city’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
A spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office told Hyperallergic that the city government will give $323.8 million to the agency, which administers public funding to arts institutions throughout the city. The appropriation marks a nearly 7% increase from last year’s then-record $299.6 million investment.

In the hours before the July 1 official budget deadline, Mamdani struck a “handshake” deal with City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other members of the Council on how to distribute $125.8 billion across the city government. The funding package is one of the first tests of Mamdani’s progressive campaign promises to make life more affordable for everyday New Yorkers.

In a statement to Hyperallergic, Mamdani referred to the city’s artists and cultural institutions as New York’s “beating heart.”