{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/standing-at-proctors-theatre-in-schenectady-with-the-cast-of-summer-the-donna-summer-musical-schumer-announces-10-million-for-schenectady-staple_proctors-theatreand-lays-out-massive-covid-relief-to-boost-capital-regions-economic-recovery-completes-his-first-62-county-tour-around-ny-as-majority-leader--", "STANDING AT PROCTORS THEATRE IN SCHENECTADY WITH THE CAST OF SUMMER: THE DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $10 MILLION FOR SCHENECTADY STAPLE \u2013 PROCTORS THEATRE\u2014AND LAYS OUT MASSIVE COVID RELIEF...", "2021-12-12", "2021", "2021-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "NY", "Charles E. Schumer", "S000148", "www.schumer.senate.gov", "schumer", "https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Senator Says Proctors Theatre Is Lifeblood & Economic Anchor Of Downtown Schenectady But Thanks To Schumer-Secured $10M, Proctors Is Finally Ready To Open Once Again\n\nSchumer Secured Dedicated Fed COVID Relief That Provided Capital Region Venues And Theaters Over $39 Million To Keep Stages Lit And Ensure The Show Would Go On\n\nSchumer To Capital Region: $10M Because I Love to Love Cap Region, Baby!\n\nStanding at the iconic Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer detailed the impact of the over $39 million he secured for the Capital Region\u2019s independent live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions thanks to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), otherwise known as the \u2018Save Our Stages\u2019 program which Schumer led to passage into law. Schumer stood at Albany\u2019s historic Palace Theatre last year to advocate for this funding for the Capital Region. Schumer said that Proctors Theatre is the beating heart of downtown Schenectady and a driving force in the local economy, and the COVID package that he negotiated, provided Proctors Theatre with $10 million in COVID relief to ensure the lights remained on in their darkest days of the pandemic and that Broadway could come back to Schenectady!\n\n\u201cLast year, I stood at another Capital Region staple, the Palace Theatre, promising that I\u2019d deliver for our independent venues \u2013 the beating heart of Upstate New York\u2019s cultural life and a driving force in the economy. I\u2019m here to say promises made promises kept, to the tune of $10 million going right here to Proctors Theatre,\u201d said Senator Schumer. \u201cProctors is an economic anchor in downtown Schenectady, which is why I fought so hard to ensure they\u2019d get their fair share to keep the lights on during their darkest days of the pandemic and recover. Nearly a year after I stood, with Philip Morris and other key venue operators at the Palace Theater in Albany calling for this desperately needed funding; today, I\u2019m here to celebrate over $39 million to venues across the Capital Region to bring Broadway back to Schenectady and ensure the show will go on!\u201d\n\nTo date, the SVOG program has provided more than $1.9 billion to more than 1,400 theaters, independent music venues and comedy clubs, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions like museums and zoos across New York. Schumer said that live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions are some of the hardest hit industries by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dedicated federal assistance he secured saved many venues from permanently shutting their doors to the public. The senator said the federal assistance was imperative to local economies because independent venues drive economic activity within communities like Schenectady through restaurants, hotels, taxis and other transportation and retail establishments.\n\nOther beloved Capital Region venues like the Palace Theater, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, and The Egg, were also able to keep the lights on, and continue to drive their communities with the help of the federal relief funds. Schumer explained that it was not just our big live performance theaters who had to close the curtains in March 2020. Movie theaters like Madison Theatre in Albany and Rotterdam Square Cinemas also received funding.\n\nIn December 2020, Schumer negotiated the Save Our Stages Act into the bipartisan COVID relief package, which provided $15 billion nationally for independent live venue operators, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions such as live performing arts organizations and museums that have been significantly impacted by the economic effects of the COVID crisis. Specifically, the COVID relief package created a new Small Business Administration (SBA) grant program known as the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) which independent live venue operators, promoters, producers, talent representatives, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions were eligible for. These grants were used for payroll costs, rent, mortgage, utilities, and personal protective equipment, and other needs, to help keep the industry alive and rebound. Schumer then secured more than $1 billion in additional funding for the SVOG program in the American Rescue Plan, and made sure SVOG applicants could access assistance from both Save Our Stages and the SBA\u2019s Paycheck Protection Program.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/standing-at-proctors-theatre-in-schenectady-with-the-cast-of-summer-the-donna-summer-musical-schumer-announces-10-million-for-schenectady-staple_proctors-theatreand-lays-out-massive-covid-relief-to-boost-capital-regions-economic-recovery-completes-his-first-62-county-tour-around-ny-as-majority-leader--"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.133617177605629, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}