HUDSON RIVER MUSEUM 2018 HONOREE MAYOR MIKE SPANO
The Hudson River Museum is delighted to shine a spotlight on Yonkers’ Mayor Mike Spano, a great friend of the arts, education, and this institution. A lifelong resident of Yonkers, Mayor Spano knows that the arts imbue our community with life and contribute to its economic success in ways large and small. Since taking office in 2012, he has led Yonkers’ revitalization with groundbreaking new projects that are transforming the city’s waterfront, attracting new businesses, and creating new jobs, including in the arts. Each spring, thousands of visitors from near and far converge on the city to attend Yonkers Arts Weekend, an event founded by Mayor Spano and the City of Yonkers in 2014. By establishing the Carpet Mills Arts District in 2015, Mayor Spano helped to turn empty commercial buildings into spaces where creative people can live, work, and exhibit, accelerating Yonkers’ growth as an arts destination. His commitment to the arts and sciences is especially evident in Yonkers’ steadfast support of the Hudson River Museum. This support allows us to offer innovative exhibitions and award-winning STEM programs, partnerships with public schools, artists- and scientists-in-residence, and new initiatives that are a key resource for our diverse community. We are particularly proud of our Planetarium, the only public planetarium in Westchester County, which brings a state-of-the art facility that projects up to 20 million stars and opens new worlds up to visitors and schoolchildren—thanks to a renovation funded generously by Mayor Spano and the City of Yonkers. On the occasion of this, the Hudson River Museum’s Celestial Gala, we wish to thank Mayor Spano for keeping this museum a gateway to the arts and the stars for more than 70,000 visitors a year, including 25,000 students. He is that rare leader: a visionary who brings dreams to earth for the entire community.
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