STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Three Staten Island institutions have lost more than $500,000 in federal arts and humanities funding, the Advance/SILive.com has learned.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, the Staten Island Museum and IlluminArt Productions in Livingston were among numerous U.S. organizations that lost out on funding from the National Endowment of the Arts.
A May 2 email from the National Endowment for the Arts notified Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden that it would no longer fund a $10,000 grant for a visual arts program, because it didn’t align with President Donald Trump’s priorities.
“The NEA is updating its grant making policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the president. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities,” the email to Snug Harbor read. “Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda.”
That new direction includes a wide variety of topics, including support for the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities; celebrations for the country’s 250th anniversary next year; artificial intelligence competency; support for skilled trade jobs; and support for members of the military and veterans.
The message to Snug Harbor matched a widely-reported form email sent from the National Endowment for the Arts to organizations around the country informing them of grant cuts. The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services have sent similar emails, as reported by the New York Times.
The National Endowment for the Arts, which Trump proposed eliminating in a recent budget proposal, included a notice of the opportunity to appeal in its email to Snug Harbor. The organization shared the email with the Advance/SILive.com Thursday.
Jessica Vodoor, president and CEO of Snug Harbor, said the cuts to the three cultural organizations on the Livingston campus total more than $500,000.
“These grant terminations currently total a loss of $585,194 in federal funding to Snug Harbor’s resident organizations for 2025, and across Staten Island’s arts and culture sector there is nearly $1 million that can be impacted by additional federal priority shifts,” Vodoor said. “Snug Harbor organizations’ collective losses stem from grant terminations from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, impacting our ability to create planned cultural programming for the public in the coming year. Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden plans to appeal the NEA decision on our specific grant termination.”
Anthony Raisley — communications director for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican congresswoman for Staten Island and South Brooklyn — said their office had inquired about the funds, and whether it’s a temporary pause or a permanent cancellation of the grants awarded during former President Joseph Biden’s administration.