Last Wednesday, New York City officials showed their support of arts organizations by announcing a new initiative called "Culture Active In Disasters" (CultureAID).

The program will be a "response and recovery network to reduce redundant communications, pool available resources and share best practices about emergency preparedness."

Tom Finkelpearl, the New York Cultural Affairs Commissioner, and Joseph Esposito, the New York Office of Emergency Management Commissioner, jointly announced CultureAID which was inspired by the devastating impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York City's arts and cultural community. Commissioner Finkelpearl said that he hopes CultureAID will minimize the impact of future disasters on the arts.