In December 2024, the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously ruled in favor of a group of New York artists, residents, and property owners who challenged the constitutionality of a controversial “Arts Fund” fee.
The group behind the lawsuit—the Coalition for Fairness in SoHo & NoHo—largely built its case on precedents established in three of PLF’s 18 Supreme Court victories (Nollan, Koontz, and Sheetz), illustrating
the lasting impact of our clients’ fight for justice over the past 50+ years.
Now, following the City’s appeal, PLF has officially joined the Coalition to prepare for a new hearing before the New York Court of Appeals—the state’s highest court.
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Despite the City’s lofty intentions, the Arts Fund fee penalizes homeowners—like the Coalition’s members in Joint Live-Work Quarters for Artists (JLWQA) zoning—at a rate of $100 per square foot, amounting to $250,000 on average, just to convert their permits to general residential use so they can sell or otherwise transfer their deeds.
Loosely defined, the Arts Fund is intended to finance “arts programming projects” and “facilities that promote the public presence of the arts.” Yet its geographic scope spans 20 times the area—and covers 100 times the population—of SoHo and NoHo, where these JLWQA residents actually live.
Worse still, SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods do not benefit from the fund at all. The Arts Fund fee is totally unrelated to the City’s rezoning goal of increasing housing stock, and it has no connection to any impact caused by converting a JLWQA home to general residential use—failing key tests established in related Supreme Court decisions.
You can learn more about the Coalition’s fight on our case page—and check out the respondent brief we filed with the New York Court of Appeals for more information on our legal arguments.
If you or someone you know is interested in working together on similar issues, please reach out to PLF coalitions director Michael Slabinski.
Thank you for standing with us. Stay tuned for more updates.
Until then,
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