Artists & Citizens Unite! Save Carnegie Artist Studios

Artists, Patrons of the Arts, and Citizens Unite!

Save your inheritance -- The Carnegie Hall Artist Studios - from being dismantled and destroyed! Join us in rescuing this legendary, historic haven for artists and the arts for generations to come! Protect the legal rights of artist tenants currently living and working in the Artist Studios! Help them keep their homes and studio workspaces! There are 170 artist studios that belong to YOU! Preserve your historic cultural legacy!

Icons of American art and culture have lived, worked and studied in the Artist Studios. Marlon Brando, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Isadora Duncan, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and Martha Graham are only a few of the legends that have called the Artists Studios an artistic haven or home. John Leguizamo, John Turturro, Mira Sorvino, David Duchovny, Richard Schiff, and hundreds of others call it their artistic home NOW!

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

                                We the undersigned bring to your attention a serious issue threatening New York City and its cultural arts community the Carnegie Hall Corporations planned destruction of The Carnegie Hall Artist Studios.  We humbly introduce this matter to you as well as the New York City Council, Department of Cultural Affairs, Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Senator Joe Bruno, and Governor Elliot Spitzer. We are confident you will each be moved to take strong action to protect Andrew Carnegies original vision for the Carnegie Hall Artist Studios, which was to provide living and working spaces to artists of DIVERSE disciplines so they may flourish and gift New York City and the world with their art and educational contributions to the development of future artists.

We, the undersigned, ask you to:

• Investigate the Carnegie Hall Corporation,(CHC) wrongful, selective and narrow use of the public trust in its management of Carnegie Hall Artist Studios (formed by an act of the New York State Legislature; Chapter 524, April 14, 1960) regarding its failure to meet its obligation in said legislation to maintain the studios for -educational, recreational and incidental residential purposes and activities for which said hall and properties have HERETOFORE BEEN USED-.   Specifically when the 170 studios were rented to artists defined by said legislation as those in-music, drama and related, and graphic arts- as has been rented to these artists since the towers were built by Andrew Carnegie specifically for artists over 110 years ago!

• Instruct the Carnegie Hall Corporation to abide by the regulations and covenants outlined in the 1960 Master Lease, which mandates the studios be advertised and rented only to artists for a period of at least 60 days, after another artist vacates their studio, and to immediately reinstitute the waiting list and artist application process for rentals.

• Examine the Carnegie Hall Corporation%u2019s warehousing of over 100 studios as it pertains to the above-mentioned and violates mandated use of studios for educational, recreational and incidental residential purposes and activities for which said hall and properties have HERETOFORE BEEN USED%u201D. 

• Convene public hearings with the City Council of New York to reexamine the public trust given by the people of New York State to Carnegie Hall Corporation for its management of Carnegie Hall and the Carnegie Hall Artist Studios.

• Immediately Stop Carnegie Hall Corporation from evicting 42 artists who are current residents in the Carnegie Hall Artist Studios -- some of whom are master teachers and celebrated artists well into their 80s and 90s, and whom themselves educate thousands of New York City residents. We ask the Mayor to insist that the Carnegie Hall Corporation and its board of trustees adhere to the 1960 state legislation out of legal obligation and a sense of morality.
  

to learn more about the Artists who live and work in the Studio towers of Carnegie Hall go to: www.carnegieartiststudios.com

Artists and Citizens who have lent their support to help save the Artist Studios of Carnegie Hall from extinction are:

Robert De Niro

Jo Andres

Steve Buscemi

Jordan Baker

Bobby Cannavale

Kristin Chenoweth

Joel Coen

Scott Cohen

Didi Conn

Brian Cox

Willem Dafoe

Blythe Danner
Tyne Daly

Bill DElia

David Duchovny

Suzanne Esper

William Esper

Tovah Feldshuh

Joseph Feury

Frances Fisher

James Gandolfini

Dan Gordon

Lee Grant

Conleth Hill

Ciaran Hinds

Tony Kushner

Henry Jaglom

Anne Jackson

Louise Lasser

Sean Mahon

Ian McShane

David Morse

Jim Norton

Austin Pendleton

Ron Rifkin

Susan Sarandon

Marian Seldes

Mary Testa

Ana Traina

Aida Turturro

Nicholas Turturro

Eli Wallach

Roberta Wallach

We must act NOW to save this irreplaceable National Treasure of legendary and historic artist studios in NYC for generations to come!