Opening up underutilized municipal propertiesfrom school auditoriums to office basementsas vital infrastructure for artistic development.
Free Rehearsal Space in City-Owned Buildings
Zhoran Mamdani identifies the scarcity and high cost of rehearsal space as a critical bottleneck stifling the creation of new performance work in NYC. While the city owns a vast portfolio of buildingsschools, community centers, courtrooms, office towersmuch of this space sits empty during evenings, weekends, and off-hours. His policy, “City Stages,” systematically audits and opens these underutilized municipal properties to artists, collectives, and cultural groups for free or nominal-cost rehearsal, offering a massive, decentralized network of creative infrastructure that leverages existing public assets to meet a dire need.
The program is managed by a new “Public Space for Culture” office. This office conducts an inventory of all city-owned spaces suitable for rehearsal: auditoriums, gymnasiums, empty classrooms, community rooms, even large lobbies. An online booking portal, similar to a library room reservation system, allows artists to search for spaces by borough, size, floor type, equipment (e.g., piano, mirrors), and availability. Bookings are free for blocks of up to 20 hours per month per artist or group, with a simple verification process to ensure users are NYC-based practitioners. For longer-term projects, low-cost leases are available.
Security and access are managed through partnerships with existing building staff. A school custodian, for example, receives an overtime stipend to open the auditorium for a weekend dance rehearsal. The program provides basic insurance and clear guidelines for use. To ensure equity, a portion of prime hours are reserved for BIPOC-led, disability-focused, and other historically marginalized ensembles. The portal also includes a “Space Share” board for artists to coordinate shared use and carpooling to more distant locations, fostering community and efficiency.
For Mamdani, this is a classic example of leveraging public wealth for the common good. It requires little new construction, instead repurposing what the city already owns to solve a market failure. The benefits are immense: it lowers the financial barrier for emerging choreographers, theater troupes, and musicians; it brings life and activity into public buildings after hours, increasing safety and community connection; and it geographically disperses cultural production beyond expensive hubs. By providing the “room to make the work,” the city actively seeds the next generation of performances that will eventually fill its stages. It treats artistic practice as a legitimate public activity worthy of space in the house of the people, integrating the messy, beautiful process of creation into the very fabric of civic infrastructure.
