Manhattan lawmakers are taking a necessary step to restore a pathway New York once used to create affordable artist housing. For decades, programs like Westbeth and nonprofit-sponsored developments have legally reserved units for artists. That shifted after amendments to the Human Rights Law were widely interpreted—by agencies, lawyers, and developers—as prohibiting occupation-specific housing.
The assumption was that artist eligibility amounted to discrimination, even though the law historically allowed targeted workforce housing. Council Members Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) and Erik Bottcher (D-Manhattan) are introducing legislation to clarify that artist-focused housing is entirely permissible. The bill doesn’t create new units, but it removes a chilling effect that has stalled development for years.
The need for this clarification stems from a larger truth: our public data systems fundamentally misrepresent who artists are. Census surveys classify someone as an “artist” only if their primary job is an artistic occupation. Anyone piecing together a living across multiple jobs—an enormous share of the field—is statistically invisible. That exclusion reinforces a false demographic narrative of white, affluent, full-time artists while obscuring the diverse, low-income workforce that actually sustains the state’s culture and arts sector.
The 2022 Portrait of New York State Artists—collected by Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) and entrusted to the Culture and Arts Policy Institute as CRNY sunsetted—corrects this distortion. With more than 13,000 respondents, it documents a workforce defined by instability: 57% earned under $25,000, 86% under $50,000, and 63% could not cover a $400 emergency without debt. Many rely on low-income 1099 work, intermittent contracts, or cash-based earnings—income forms that remain structurally disadvantaged in housing applications. These workers are not living on predictable, linear W-2 wages. Yet, our housing system continues to assume precisely that, making them routinely ineligible for affordable housing lotteries, traditional mortgages, and most lending products.
At the Institute, we understand the housing challenge as larger than “artist housing.” Freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors experience the same systemic barriers rooted in outdated income verification and eligibility standards. Building alignment across these constituencies offers the most effective path toward modern, evidence-based housing policy that reflects how New Yorkers actually work in the 21st century. Rather than siloing artists, we can advance solutions that benefit the broader contingent workforce and strengthen housing access across the city.