New York City Artists Unite to Support the Rockaways and the Flooded Areas of New York City

Open Letter to Encourage Mutual Citizen Support

Dear Mayor Bloomberg and All Fellow New Yorkers,

The Rockaways geographically, as you know, are the area that is breaking the waves between the Atlantic Ocean and JFK Airport and New York City in general. Demographically, it is very diverse and not a privileged area.

In recent years, the Rockaways became an incredible inspiration and haven for the artists and creative community of New York. As the Rockaways are, at their best, a melting pot between the local community and the creative energies of the city, it is a location where New York is anticipating and creating the images and dreams we all live on.

Hurricane Sandy completely devastated the peninsula, and a couple of days after the storm, families with children are still standing next to their destroyed and ruined houses trying to keep warm without food, water, electricity, heat, or internet.

The artistic community is sending you this letter to support the city in your amazing, monumental efforts in all boroughs to save our city and to encourage the creative communities in New York to invent exemplary ways of helping our neighbors and fellow New Yorkers!

Respectfully yours,

Marina Abramović / Doug Aitken / Francis Alÿs / Darren Aronofsky / Tauba Auerbach / Matthew Barney / Klaus Biesenbach / Adrien Brody / Giada Colagrande / Francisco Costa / Anthony D. Curcio Jr. / Willem Dafoe / Anna Deavere Smith / Roe Ethridge / James Franco / Lady Gaga / Antony Hegarty / Jonathan Horowitz / Spike Jonze / Nicole Kidman / Steven Klein / Terence Koh / Padma Lakshmi / Madonna / Laurel Nakadate / Gwyneth Paltrow / Richard Phillips / Jonathan Pierce / Rob Pruitt / Terry Richardson / Rockaway Artists Alliance / Cynthia Rowley / Cindy Sherman / Jenny Shimizu / Patti Smith / Michael Stipe / Mickalene Thomas / Ryan Trecartin / Liv Tyler / Gus Van Sant / Martha Wainwright / Rufus Wainwright / Rachel Weisz / Olivier Zahm / Italo Zuchelli

Watch a short film on Sandy here

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