When I first came up with the idea for Cortelyou Music & Play, I envisioned a local community artist co-op where every teaching partner lived in the neighborhood and received 100% of their lesson fees with no middlemen.

The sad reality is that most music schools take 50% or more of the lesson fee you’d pay from their faculty without doing much to provide value for that hefty cut. Adding insult to injury, most music schools participate in the common tax scam of paying teachers as 1099 contractors with no benefits, when for all intents and purposes they are employees. This also passes along the tax that should be paid by the school to the teacher. I wanted Cortelyou Music & Play to be different, so I did it.

When I saw the storefront for lease, I was at the local playground with my 2-year-old and realized right away that the location was perfect and the space had the potential to be beautiful. It was tiny, in desperate need of modernization, and borderline dilapidated, but probably for those reasons, I could afford the rent. The renovation costs are another story...

This is a unique opportunity for local artists to have greater creative freedom and enhance the quality of services for kids in the neighborhood. I would have killed for a space like this when I was grinding away in a windowless room for years at various schools. It cost me basically my entire savings, but I believe in the project and want the neighborhood to be able to thrive for my own two kids.

I'm extremely grateful for the reception from the community and look forward to serving you. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.