Mayor Bloomberg, The Broadway League, Times Square Alliance And NYC & Company Kick Off Broadway

9/14/09

MAYOR BLOOMBERG, THE BROADWAY LEAGUE, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE AND NYC & COMPANY KICK OFF 2009-2010 BROADWAY SEASON FOLLOWING BROADWAY’S MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR EVER



2008-09 Season was Biggest in History with 43 Show Openings, 12.15 Million Tickets Sold and $943 Million in Revenue



More than 20 New Shows Expected to Open by End of the Year



Promoting Targeted Sectors Like Tourism and Entertainment to Diversify New York City’s Economy is Part of the Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan



Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, The Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin, Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins, NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta and a host of Broadway stars, including John Stamos and Michael McKean, today kicked off the 2009-2010 Broadway season at ‘Broadway on Broadway 2009’, an annual free, public concert in Times Square. Over twenty new shows are expected to open by the end of the year, following Broadway’s most successful season ever last year, with record ticket sales and the highest number of show openings in more than 25 years. Last year, the City intensified its promotion of Broadway, highlighting it in campaigns at international travel trade shows and through NYC & Company’s 18 offices around the world, establishing discounts as part of the NYC: The Real Deal program, and creating new local ads in taxicabs, on street pole banners and at bus stop shelters. Broadway on Broadway, produced by The Broadway League and Times Square Alliance, is part of Back2Broadway Month, which highlights the new season with free events, special ticket offers, great dining deals, interactive activities and more.



“New York City is recognized as one of the great cultural capitals of the world, and there’s no bigger reason than the brilliance and vibrancy of Broadway,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Broadway is an enormous driver of our tourism industry, and last year – when the conventional wisdom was that it would suffer due to the national economic downturn – we took a number of new steps to promote it to and keep that from happening. Not only did Broadway avoid losses, it had its best year every, and this season looks to be another success. That’s a testament to the tremendous advocacy of The Broadway League, the Times Square Alliance and NYC & Company, but most of all, to the vitality of New York City and the enduring creativity of New Yorkers.”



“Experiencing live theatre is always magical. When the background is as spectacular as the iconic setting of Times Square, Broadway on Broadway is a singular sensation that fans look forward to enjoying every year,” said The Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin. “It’s always a perfect time to see a Broadway show. Great seats are easy to buy and available at every price point – it’s never been a better time to see the many new shows and exciting long-running plays and musicals. With special deals for shows and restaurants, Broadway is accessible for all New Yorkers, and the compelling events planned throughout September during the new Back2Broadway Month provide even more reasons to come to Broadway.”



“Broadway and Times Square are experiencing a year worth a standing ovation,” said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins. “Record ticket sales, the highest number of new show openings in 25 years and the opening of the popular pedestrian plaza. These are definitely reasons for celebration. We are delighted to bring tens of thousands of fans the Broadway experience for free in the heart of Times Square. Broadway on Broadway will kick off the 2009-2010 theater season in grand form.”



“A visit to New York City is not complete without seeing a Broadway show—as the new season gets under way, there’s never been a better time to see and experience a new show or take in one of the new Back2Broadway activities planned this month,” said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company.



To date, the following shows are scheduled to open during the 2009-2010 season, with more expected to announce. A Steady Rain, The Addams Family, After Miss Julie, A Behanding in Spokane, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound, Burn the Floor, Bye Bye Birdie, Collected Stories, Fela, Finian’s Rainbow, Hamlet, In the Next Room, La Cage Aux Folles, Memphis, Oleanna, Present Laughter, Race, Ragtime, The Royal Family, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Superior Donuts, Time Stands Still, and Wishful Drinking.



Broadway on Broadway 2009 is hosted by Michael McKean, star of the upcoming Broadway play Superior Donuts, and presented by the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and Continental Airlines. The event will showcase hundreds of performers from Broadway shows. Information and event listings of Back2Broadway Month can be accessed at www.ilovenytheater.com.



Broadway contributes $5.1 billion to New York City’s economy and supports 44,000 local jobs. The 2008-09 season was the biggest Broadway season in history with 43 show openings, 12.15 million tickets sold and more than $943 million in revenues generated. More than six million tickets were sold to visitors who came to New York City or extended their trip specifically to attend a Broadway show.



New York City continues to have by far the highest share – 32.4 percent – of all overseas travel to the U.S. After a slower first quarter of 2009, visitors returned to NYC in larger numbers this past April. The spring and summer months proved to be better than forecasted, with hotel demand, attendance at visitor attractions and many cultural organizations showing improvement as the months passed. This year, the City has seen a 6 percent increase in hotel room inventory across the five boroughs, and demand for hotel rooms is only 3 percent below last year’s peak level. Hotel occupancy in New York City – above 84 percent since April – continues to top the national average, which was 61 percent in August.



The Bloomberg Administration’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan is a comprehensive strategy to bring New York City through the current economic downturn as fast as possible. It focuses on three major areas: creating jobs for New Yorkers today, implementing a long-term vision for growing the city’s economy, and building affordable, attractive neighborhoods in every borough. Taken together, the initiatives that the City has launched to achieve these goals will generate thousands of jobs and put New York City on a path to economic recovery and growth. To learn more about the plan, visit nyc.gov.



Recent announcements to diversify the economy include:
• A plan to create 11,000 permanent industrial jobs on Brooklyn’s working waterfront.
• Eight initiatives to strengthen the media industry in New York City.
• New initiatives to help support Hispanic-owned small businesses.
• The opening of China Construction Bank’s New York City office.
• New international cruise activity, growing New York City’s 13,000-job cruise industry.
• Steps to help New York City’s bioscience companies compete for Federal funding.
• Legislation that will green buildings and create 19,000 construction jobs.
• Green projects at the Brooklyn Navy Yard are creating more than 1,700 permanent jobs.
• Comprehensive initiatives to support the nonprofit sector and its 490,000 jobs.
• New programs to provide training and resources for City’s future entrepreneurs.
• 11 new initiatives to support the financial services sector and promote entrepreneurship.



Other Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan announcements include:
• The financing of 12,500 low- and middle-income affordable housing units this past year.
• The start of construction of the $148 million East River Waterfront Esplanade.
• The first housing projects to start using TCAP stimulus funds, creating 2,800 jobs.
• The start of construction of an affordable housing complex in the South Bronx.
• Steps to prevent a speculative purchase of Ocelot Capital Group sites in the South Bronx.
• Plans for the first 120 units of the Seaview Senior housing project in Staten Island.
• SecondMarket, Inc. will create 367 new jobs in Lower Manhattan through JCRP.
• $1 million to create a shared commercial kitchen at La Marqueta in East Harlem.
• The start of construction of a 600-unit mixed-income complex in the Bronx.
• The start of construction of major improvements to Queens Plaza and Jackson Avenue.
• $100 million for 14 infrastructure projects across Queens that will create 400 new jobs.
• The adoption of the City’s plan for Coney Island that will create more than 30,000 jobs.
• $350,000 in NYC Business Solutions Training Funds awarded to small businesses.
• Resources for workforce training to New Yorkers for jobs in a green economy.
• ImClone will locate its research headquarters at the City’s new bioscience complex.
• Enhancements to the City’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program.
• The opening of a 125-unit mixed income housing development in the Central Harlem.
• A record 10,500 job placements through the first half of 2009.
• A plan to convert unoccupied apartments and stalled sites into affordable housing.
• The opening of New Mount Hope Community Center in the Bronx.
• The purchase of the Hunter’s Point South site to create a new, affordable neighborhood.
• A public campaign to help more New Yorkers get free foreclosure prevention services.
• The start of services of the Park Slope 5th Avenue Business Improvement District.
• A stimulus-funded bond program to spur commercial and industrial projects citywide.
• The City will use nearly $32 million to train 10,000 New Yorkers for jobs.
• New space for 20 small businesses in Bushwick, creating more than 80 industrial jobs.
• The citywide “Fashion’s Night Out” event to support retailers in all five boroughs.
• The start to construction of the International Gem Tower, which will house 3,000 jobs.
• City’s Workforce1 Centers in Harlem and Jamaica received awards for innovation.
• Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program to encourage grocery stores.
• City-supported loans unavailable from banks to help small businesses stay in operation.
• Three new Financial Empowerment Centers offering free, one-on-one financial coaching.
• Stimulus funding to help the City provide summer jobs for 51,000 young New Yorkers.
• The opening of New Hope Walton Project, housing for low-income residents in Harlem.
• New affordable housing at Gateway Building, a long-vacant structure in the South Bronx.
• The Harlem Business Assistance Fund to help businesses relocate to the 125th Street area.
• The expansion of NYC Business Express to help businesses obtain permits and licenses.
• The “Nine in ’09” campaign to promote economic activity in diverse neighborhoods.
• A Center for Economic Opportunity program put 4,000 low-income New Yorkers in jobs.
• Stimulus-funded community development projects that will strengthen neighborhoods.
• Stimulus-funded Housing Authority projects that will create jobs for 3,255 New Yorkers.
• The start of construction of 103 units of affordable housing in Brownsville.
• The opening of Home Depot in the South Bronx creating 200 new permanent jobs.
• The latest round of training funds to help small businesses train their employees.
• The placement of 50 laid-off New Yorkers into positions at entrepreneurial companies.
• New York City achieved a record 5,000 job placements through the first quarter of 2009.
• Help for a beer distributor to create 55 permanent and 30 construction jobs in the Bronx.
• Comprehensive initiatives to support the nonprofit sector and its 490,000 jobs.
• Federal stimulus transportation projects that will create or preserve 32,000 jobs.
• Steps the City is taking to help small businesses adapt to conditions and avoid layoffs.
• A plan to create and retain 400,000 jobs over the next six years.



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Contact: Stu Loeser/Andrew Brent (212) 788-2958
Kimberly Spell/Chris Heywood (NYC & Company) (212) 484-1270
Elisa Shevitz (The Broadway League) (212) 703-0225
Minerva Martinez (Times Square Alliance) (212) 452 5213