The National Comedy Center is seeking $200,000 in nonprofit funding to help offset losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine organizations have applied for a share of $1.5 million through the ARPA Non-Profit Business Grant program. P-J file photo

For an attraction billed as a tourist destination and comedy haven, COVID-19 dealt a financially crippling blow to the National Comedy Center in 2020. Ripples from the pandemic continue to be felt today.

“It’s no mystery that there was a 16-week mandated closure by New York state,” Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center executive director, told members of the Jamestown Local Development Corp. this week. “Well, those were 16 weeks of our high season, and we know this is a very seasonal climate for tourism. So, to close during those crucial 16 weeks in 2020, it decimated our revenue.”

The Comedy Center is seeking $200,000 from the ARPA Non-Profit Business Grant program to help offset revenue losses of $2.3 million in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Three years after the pandemic arrived, the losses are still being felt at the Jamestown museum. Gunderson noted that industrywide projections had 2022 as when most tourism businesses would return to 2019 levels.

“Ask anyone in the industry, that didn’t happen,” she said, later adding, “The hit continues. Things have not fully rebounded.”

But more than just lost income for the Comedy Center, Gunderson said the pandemic also forced the cancellation of the popular Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, which she said draws 15,000 people to the community. “Think about the hotels; think about the Airbnbs; think about the restaurants,” she said. “Those people aren’t getting groceries and cooking in kitchens most of the time.”

In total, nine organizations have submitted applications for assistance through the grant program.

¯ The Robert H. Jackson Center is seeking $350,000 for the renovation of its Cappa Theater. Specifically, Kristan McMahon, Robert H. Jackson Center president, said they’re looking to upgrade the theater’s production capabilities, including lighting, sound and controls, video and projections, a new floor, and exterior door.

McMahon said the center’s audio-visual system was designed about 20 years ago. She described it as being “cobbled together in a variety of ways on a shoestring budget.”

She added, “The theater has been the focal point for most of our programs for the entire lifespan of the Jackson Center, and it needs some love.”

“It is at a point in its existence where it could function better for this community if changes were made to it, both from a structural perspective but also from a behind-the-scenes perspective.”

It’s estimated the entire project will cost $750,000; the center’s grant request, if fully approved, would cover 46% of the project.

¯ The Roger Tory Peterson Institute has requested $82,500 toward establishing a development director position.

Arthur Pearson, RTPI CEO remarked to JLDC members that his first day on the job was March 16, 2020. “My first official action on my first official day was to close the museum,” he said. “Back then, we really didn’t know what was going to happen — how long this was going to last.”

Pearson said his goal early on during the pandemic was keeping the staff together. “Staff is the No. 1 asset,” he said of employees, who make up about 65% to 75% of RTPI’s costs. “I convinced the board that we were not going to move forward unless we kept staff on board.”

In 2020, amid the pandemic, RTPI was closed for four months. During that time, Pearson said revenues “plummeted.”

He continued, “Museums got absolutely hammered, and we did not lay off a single person. We didn’t furlough anybody. … So we really got kicked in the teeth.”

Making matters worse, an electrical fire forced RTPI to close for an additional six months, though nothing in the collection was lost.

“So we really got off to a very difficult, challenging start,” Pearson said. “But just COVID-specific, we got kicked in the teeth to the tune of half a million dollars. That was the expense that we incurred.”

However, due to strategic planning, Pearson said attendance levels in 2021 exceeded those pre-pandemic by 70%. In 2022, those numbers doubled.

Pearson said the “critical piece” currently missing at the organization is a dedicated development director, “Someone who could really go out and not just mine our local community for dollars but to extend beyond Jamestown to attract additional dollars.”

¯ Chautauqua Opportunities is asking for $181,393 as part of a $3.78 million project to develop a 12-unit, 18-bed homeless shelter for single women.

Josiah Lamp, Chautauqua Opportunities director of housing and community development, provided statistics on the county’s homeless population. In 2020, he said there were 465 individuals “who were literally homeless.” There were 525 homeless individuals reported in 2021, with that number further increasing to 661 in 2022.

“If you dig into it a little deeper, you’ll see that the female population of those who are homeless has increased the most out of anyone,” Lamp said.

In 2020, there were 103 single adult women who were homeless. There are currently 168 women who are homeless.

Lamp said many women in need of shelter are placed in motels out of town, sometimes making it difficult for them to make appointments.

Two years ago, Chautauqua Opportunities kicked off its shelter project — now named Hope Haven Women’s Center — with its facility to be located in downtown Jamestown.

“We really do hope that this project will provide hope for the women,” Lamp said.

The center will provide assistance to women for 30 to 60 days while also working with them through programs to locate permanent housing.

¯ Jamestown Center City Development Corp. — going by the Kids Zone at Northwest Arena — has requested $500,000 for its $4.8 million TheZone project.

¯ St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is seeking $200,000 for ongoing work to restore the facility’s bell tower. As part of its description, the church said it will use interior space to create a year-round agricultural program to assist community members suffering from food insecurity.

¯ Collaborative Children’s Solutions has requested $96,850 for programs to address childhood trauma, abuse and neglect. “The project aims to coordinate existing services by providing community connections, support and opportunities for Jamestown adolescents,” the project description states.

¯ The Jamestown Area YMCA is seeking $1 million for construction of a new site.

¯ The YWCA of Jamestown is seeking $145,714 for a new program geared toward youth ages 14 to 19 “to empower healthy decision making and develop leadership skills and community advocacy.”

More than $2.75 million in assistance is being sought between the nine organizations; there is $1.5 million available in the Non-Profit Business Grant program.

Tony Dolce, a member of the Jamestown Local Development Corp. and City Council president, said the board has some options to consider, including approving funds to some organizations and not others, or decreasing by an equal percentage how much each organization receives.

It was requested that all nine applications be staff-reviewed for a recommendation. The board will again meet in July.