Schumer Supports Arlene’s Grocery in Bid to “Save Our Stages”
Senator Chuck Schumer paid a visit to the Lower East Side on Saturday to help push federal legislation aimed at assisting the ailing live entertainment industry.
He stood outside Arlene’s Grocery on Stanton Street, the twenty-five-year-old live music venue that last week announced an impending closure (February 1) if it can’t raise funds to survive.
“Live music venues, Broadway theaters, and comedy clubs – the places that make New York, New York – were among the first to close and may be the last to reopen,” Schumer wrote on Instagram. “Without targeted federal aid, many venues are at risk of going under this winter.”
Schumer has been a vocal supporter of the bipartisan “Save Our Stages Act,” which would provide $15 billion in grants for arts and entertainment venues to help survive the pandemic. If passed, the bailout would include $10 billion in relief aid for independent venues and other music-oriented independent businesses.
The Save our Stages Act was introduced in July in the U.S. Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota). In the U.S. House of Representatives, several provisions from this legislation were incorporated into the recent version of the HEROES Act, one of several pandemic relief bills currently debated in Congress.