“Robert F. Smith initially preferred to keep this quiet,” writes Robin Pogrebin in Wednesday’s (10/24) New York Times. “About a year ago, the businessman and philanthropist—who is chairman of Carnegie Hall and the largest donor to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture—donated $1 million to the Cultural Performance Center at the Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park in Harlem. But on Thursday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is to announce that the building will be renamed the Robert Frederick Smith Center for the Performing Arts, in recognition of the gift…. Governor Cuomo said in a statement that the facility’s upgrade—a $2.8 million public-private project—‘will ensure Riverbank continues to be a centerpiece of West Harlem’s vitality for years to come.’ The cultural performance center offers social, educational and performance activities, serving more than 60,000 people a year…. ‘Music and artistic expression have a unique power to unite families and communities,’ Mr. Smith said in a statement. ‘Few places embody that more than Harlem. I’m humbled by the opportunity to contribute to a center where people of all ages can come together in appreciation of the arts.’ ”
Posted October 25, 2018
