Mayor Bill de Blasio, amongst a slew of announcements, said Tuesday that Washington Heights is getting a new tourism campaign as part of the city’s recovery plan.
With Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights” premiering this week in theaters, New York City is partnering with Warner Bros. to give tourists a real-life experience of Washington Heights.
The tourist campaign will visit sites in Washington Heights like J.Hood Wright Park and the 191st Street subway stop.
“There’s going to be opportunities through this campaign to get people to know one of the great neighborhoods of this city,” said de Blasio.
This campaign is part of a larger one, called the Latino Experience in New York City. It is an ongoing five-borough campaign to spotlight Latino heritage and communities throughout the city. Washington Heights is known for its populous Latino community.
De Blasio also announced a new initiative, New York City Artist Corps. The initiative will provide grants to artists who apply in an effort to help struggling artists get back on their feet.
“We know that artists in the City went through so much,” said de Blasio. ‘We want to help them, give them work, give them employment and opportunity but also bring their incredible talents to bear all over the city.”
De Blasio also stated that Bruce Springsteen is coming back to Broadway on June 26, earlier than initially anticipated. There will be additional performances through Sept. 4. Broadway has been closed since March 12, 2020.
“Broadway is back,” said de Blasio.
The city’s recovery plan hopes to bring back tourism back in a major way, as tourism numbers cratered due to the pandemic. The mayor has frequently referred to this coming season as the “summer of New York City,” an opportunity for the five boroughs to be reborn during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
De Blasio also predicted a Brooklyn Nets championship parade, another possible event that could help with the “reopening” of the City.
