October 24, 2005 - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that four City agencies and 96.3 FM WQXR, New York's classical radio station, have created a year-long partnership to promote the City's cultural events, destinations and history through ongoing features and programming spotlighting the City's cultural life. The four City agencies covered in the partnership with 96.3 FM WQXR include the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Mayor's Office of Film Theatre and Broadcasting, The Department of Parks & Recreation, and the Department of Records and Information Services, and their commissioners.

“New York City's partnership with 96.3 FM WQXR will serve to assist us in displaying the myriad of ways we celebrate, honor and embrace the expressions of culture and ideas brought to us by artists and performers from across the City and from around the world,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The City's partnership with 96.3 FM WQXR will give us the chance to promote the wide variety of events, destinations and the history that makes our City great and economically strong.”

“New York City's entertainment industry employs 100,000 New Yorkers, contributes $5 billion to our local economy annually, and provides a host of cultural opportunities for New Yorkers,” said Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting Commissioner Katherine Oliver. “From television tapings to theatrical performances to our City's more than 50 local film festivals, I look forward to sharing our creative community's rich offerings with the listeners of WQXR over the coming year.”

“WQXR has long been New York's cultural connection over the airwaves,” said WQXR Program Director Margaret Mercer, “and we are honored and delighted now to have this active partnership with the City of New York that will enable us to get the word out on such a broad palette of offerings.”

Among the new broadcast features that are scheduled to air:

“Your New York Starts Here” - a series of daily public service announcements that spotlights exhibitions, performances, and other presentations of the city's cultural organizations.

“Did You Know?” - a short feature focusing on little-known facts of New York City history and its cultural community that on occasion will be accompanied by contests and the giving of prizes such as museum memberships and event tickets. These featurettes will be posted on the website of WQXR (www.wqxr.com ).

“Commissioner's Picks” - a tri-weekly interview with one of the commissioners of the above agencies, with their recommendations on the week's cultural activities, to air between 8:00 and 9:00 AM on “The Morning Show” with host Annie Bergen.

“New York City is defined by its creative vitality, and this unique partnership offers us an extraordinary opportunity to promote our diverse cultural community and reinforce our identity as the world's premiere cultural destination,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin. “Cultural organizations of every size and discipline stand to benefit from this exposure, and New Yorkers and visitors will get to learn about a vast array of cultural organizations and events throughout the five boroughs. Overall, it's a great initiative for both artists and audiences.”

“The Parks Department is thrilled to have WQXR as its new media partner,” said Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “New York City's parks host countless concerts, art shows, sports events, and nature excursions, and we always work hard to get the word out--now, all the public has to do is tune in to WQXR to discover where to find art and events in the City's great parks.”

Founded in 1936, 96.3 FM WQXR was the nation's first commercial classical music radio station, and since 1944 it has been owned and operated by The New York Times Company. The most listened-to classical station in the United States, with nearly a million listeners tuning in each week, WQXR also features regular news, analysis and commentary from correspondents of The New York Times. WQXR is available online exclusively through Radio@AOL . More information about the station and its programming, and access to its stream, are available at www.wqxr.com.