0.9 Chapter seven: retrenchment and the struggle for survival, 19  (Page 13/20)

Not everyone at the city was as supportive of the Society and its request as Fife. An article in the New York Times quoted a highly placed city official as saying that Commissioner Cancel had given the Society's appropriation the lowest priority on a list of eight or nine items to be considered in the city's cultural budget. When questioned, Cancel stated that he wanted "to find a way for the Historical Society to survive," but that "the appearance of rewarding an organi­zation for mismanagement is something we have to be very careful about. The public sector is in no position to rescue organizations that cannot manage them­selves." The anonymous city official was quoted as saying that "the Mayor would prefer to have his team in cultural affairs all working together; however,... he understands the larger issue and will see to it that the Historical Society gets what it needs."

During April, while Ross and others continued to lobby the city, Pearlstine reinitiated discussions with the New York Public Library. These conversations, which originated when the Society approached the library for a loan the previous December, had been on hiatus due to both the Society's problems and the sudden death of Timothy Healy, the NYPL's president. As it had been during loan negotiations, the NYPL was understandably cautious about the circumstances under which it would consider entering into a relationship with the Society. NYPL leaders felt that the relationship should evolve, progressing through a series of stages and being evaluated and endorsed by third parties at each stage. The leadership established a series of preconditions for signing an association agreement and an­other set to precede the signing of a final agreement between the two institu­tions. Although the NYPL was willing to make substantial investments in the Society in terms of both cash and in-kind services, it was not willing to do so with­out a measure of control. For example, the NYPL wanted assurance that the Society's board would be reconstituted, with the NYPL designating the chairman as well as a majority of the board's members. The library also proposed that a trust be established to fund in full a $35 million operating endowment for the Society until proceeds from deaccessions and real estate flowed in. Such a trust would re­move the timing and other risks associated with those controversial elements of the Society's plan. Finally, the NYPL planned to move the Society's library collections to Forty-Second Street, an option that, given the advisory committee's commit­ment to keep the collections together, was not attractive to Society leadership.

In the end, the Society did receive the appropriation from the city. The mayor's proposed $31.4 billion fiscal 1994 budget provided a $3.6 million in­crease for the Department of Cultural Affairs and included the $6.3 million appropriation for the Society. Cancel said that "the Mayor has obviously taken to heart how the cultural community helps New York's economy. I'm ecstatic." When asked about his earlier objections regarding the Society, Cancel said, "This money will flow through the Department of Cultural Affairs, and you may rest assured that we will have vigorous oversight on how it is spent."