Lyn Lemyre & Artworks Trenton - What's Happening with Trenton's Cultural Institutions?

Lyn Lemyre is the Executive Director of Artworks Trenton. On March 17, Trenton Downtowner Community Editor Jim Carlucci and I met Lyn at Artworks to talk about the organization’s leading role in the Arts Community in New Jersey’s Capital City. We talked about Art All Night 2012; ongoing relations with the City of Trenton, which owns the Artworks Stockton Street building, upcoming projects including “Art All DAY;” and more.

During that conversation, a print version of which can be found in the April edition of the Downtowner, Ms. Lemyre told how Artworks, like the Passage Theater at the Mill Hill Playhouse, has been so far unsuccessful in progressing toward a written, signed lease with the City of Trenton for its building.

For both institutions to be experiencing the same problem may just be coincidence. After all, the City does have a lot on its plate, and negotiating building leases may not be a high-priority item. On the other hand, the deals should be straightforward and easy to negotiate for two of the city’s premiere cultural institutions. So, what’s the hold up?

Along with Ms. Lemyre’s comments about how the City has delayed releasing $250,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the physical maintenance of the building, one really has to wonder why the City is dragging its heels with these two institutions.

Speaking of CDBG monies and cultural institutions in the City, here is (courtesy of Jim Carlucci) a form in which the City has allocated $194,040 in CDBG funds for three of the City’s four closed neighborhood branch libraries. The narrative description of the work to be done with these funds is as follows:

“Budget cuts forced the closure of 3 branch libraries. In the age of the internet, digital entertainment and other changing habits, modernization of the facilities is important so community groups can operate and guarantee continued access to low and moderate income residents especially the youth.”

I find the explicit reference to “community groups,” and the explicit absence of reference to the Trenton Public Library a little troubling. In all of the talk over several months about the mayor’s “Committee” and “Plan” to reopen the neighborhood branches, as recently as this year’s State of the City address, the management and Trustees of the Public Library have been noticeably and conspicuously out of the loop when it comes to knowledge of the City’s intentions. Why is that?

Can it be that Mr. Mack is indeed planning to re-open the branch libraries, but not under the auspices of the Trenton Public Library? Is the City delaying lease negotiations with both Passage Theater and Artworks because it has other plans for those spaces. with other tenants? I don’t know, but there are a lot of indications out there that something is going on. I’d like some answers to these questions.

This evening, City Council will be considering the nomination – once again – of Sam Hutchinson as the Mack Administration’s 387th Business Administrator (OK, only the 9th. Only). I wouldn’t expect Mr. Hutchinson to be fully knowledgeable this evening about the issues surrounding the city’s cultural institutions. But I do think that members of Council should make this request of him, and follow up in the weeks to come:

Mr. Hutchinson, can you promise us tonight to report back to Council within 30 days on the status of any issues surrounding the negotiations for long-term building leases with the Passage Theater and Artworks Trenton? Also, can you come back and assure us that any plans to re-open the neighborhood branches under City auspices will be done under the management of the Trenton Free Public Library? Thank You.

Here’s the interview with Lyn Lemyre. Enjoy.