ABOUT THE NEW 42ND STREET
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THE FIRST 15 YEARS

On December 10, 1990, at the initial meeting of the Board of Directors of the 42nd Street Entertainment Corporation—the brand-new nonprofit entity established by New York State and New York City—the founding directors' very first decision was to rename the organization, The New 42nd Street. This name was chosen to signal the aspirations of the Board and to serve as a guide in the years to come as choices and challenges presented themselves. At the direction of the Board, the small staff began work on a plan for the nonprofit use of the historic Victory Theater, and The New 42nd Street's 1991 "Plan for The New Victory Theater," began:

The mission of The New 42nd Street is clear: it must reinvent life for the seven wonderful theaters under its jurisdiction, and in so doing, recreate them as places of popular art and entertainment for the 21st century and beyond. The theaters must serve as a magnet, providing affordable entertainment for New York City residents and visitors of all ages, races and classes, and they should resound with life both day and night. In order to reanimate the theaters and the street they occupy, imagination and tenacity must be brought to bear.

By the early 1980s, 42nd Street and Times Square had become a neglected stretch of urban decay. New York residents and visitors avoided the area, and growing public concern compelled New York State and City to join forces to eradicate the blight. In 1990, guided by a plan to redevelop the area through the revitalization of 42nd Street’s historic theaters, the State and City of New York established the nonprofit organization now known as The New 42nd Street.

The Victory, Times Square, Selwyn, Lyric, Liberty, Empire and Apollo theaters were leased by the State and City of New York to The New 42nd Street for 99 years. With this lease came the obligation not only to restore these theaters, but to meet what the State and City of New York had determined to be "the public Goals" for 42nd Street's redevelopment:

Maintain secure but lively daytime and evening activity in the Theaters as close to 365 days a year as possible

Strengthen New York’s role as the country’s premier entertainment city

Reinforce the area’s role as the “Crossroads of the World” by providing a diversity of entertainment serving a wide spectrum of New Yorkers and visitors of varied ages, races and economic and ethnic backgrounds

Re-establish 42nd Street as a desirable destination for all New Yorkers and visitors with a distinct identity that has a spontaneous, positive vitality on the street with structured entertainment inside the Theaters

Encourage the economic self-sufficiency of the complex

Contribute to the performing arts in New York by offering support and performance space to the extent practicable

Foster popular priced entertainment to the maximum extent possible

Credits for homepage of www.New42.org : New 42nd Street Studios building and exterior of The New Victory Theater (photos: Elliott Kaufman); interior of The New Victory Theater (photo: Colin Brennan); rehearsal in New 42nd Street Studios and patrons of The Duke on 42nd Street (photos: Stephanie Berger); Lookingglass Theatre Company production of Lookingglass Alice at The New Victory Theater, 2007 (photo: Michael Brosilow); LCT3 production of Clay at The Duke on 42nd Street, 2008 (photo: Laura Muir); signage of the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street (photo: Alexis Buatti Ramos).