STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island’s Noble Maritime Collection, an art and history museum located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, has been recognized for its commitment to education and enrichment by the mayor’s office, and selected to join the city’s prestigious Cultural Institutions Group.
The Cultural Institutions Group represents one of the city’s strongest public-private partnerships, consisting of museums, historical societies, performing arts centers, botanic gardens, and zoos operating on city-owned property. Originally established in 1869 with the American Museum of Natural History, the group last added new members with the Weeksville Heritage Center in 2019 and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 1997.
In addition to the Noble Maritime Collection, Mayor Eric Adams announced four other organizations — BRIC Arts Media, Brooklyn; the Bronx Children’s Museum; the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Queens; and Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Manhattan — that will receive substantial city subsidies and capital investment in exchange for providing accessible programming to all New Yorkers.
This expansion is the largest in nearly five decades bringing the total number of Cultural Institutions Group members to 39, said Adams’ office.
“When it comes to culture, there’s nowhere like New York,” Adams said. “With this historic expansion, we’ll help even more cultural organizations provide affordable programming for families, good-paying jobs for New Yorkers, and safe spaces for young people to learn and stay off the streets.”
The expansion comes as cultural organizations nationwide face challenges. As Cultural Institutions Group members, the five organizations will now receive annual operating subsidies instead of grants from the Cultural Development Fund program. The organizations were selected following rigorous analysis by the Department of Cultural Affairs in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget.
The city’s Fiscal Year 2026 adopted budget invests a record $299.6 million in the Department of Cultural Affairs, including a permanent funding increase of $45 million. An additional $30 million brings the total new investment to $75 million this fiscal year.
“The investment in new CIGs, as well as a historic $75 million budget increase, with $45 million baselined, for the Department of Cultural Affairs, clearly shows that City Hall values, prioritizes, and supports arts and culture today, and for future generations,” said Coco Killingsworth, the current chair of the Cultural Institutions Group.
The budget also includes $3.1 billion for cultural institutions and libraries through the 10-Year Capital Plan. Last year, the Adams administration announced more than $52 million in grants for 1,031 cultural organizations through its annual Cultural Development Fund program.
Celebrating New York Harbor
Staten Island’s Noble Maritime Collection has celebrated New York Harbor’s working waterfront since 1986. The museum maintains a pay-what-you-wish admission policy that aligns with its mission to utilize art to make the waterfront accessible to all and features Noble’s restored houseboat studio alongside 11 permanent and changing exhibitions.
“The Noble Maritime Collection is a museum built by the community, for the community, and on behalf of all those who have rolled up their sleeves and lent a hand in pursuit of its mission over the past 40 years, we are deeply honored and grateful to have our hard work recognized with membership in the Cultural Institutions Group,” said Ciro Galeno, Jr., the executive director of the Noble Maritime Collection.
Galeno states that this new honor will help support the collection’s admission policy, newly-expanded hours and visitor services. The partnership will also assist in the hiring of more local teaching artists and increase the number of students in its innovative arts education programs.
“This partnership will expand public access to our unique museum on Staten Island, where visitors can see artist and sailor John A. Noble’s houseboat studio and experience exhibitions and programs that celebrate New York City’s maritime heritage,” he said.