While The Metropolitan Museum Of Art [Met Museum or the Museum] exists rent-free on city park land and in City-owned buildings, so might 12 other important museums or organizations, each with a stated admissions policy. Find a “card” to carry with you to always know where New Yorkers are entitled to free admission.
Here is what we know and are sharing with you now:
In addition to the Met Museum, the 12 other institutions existing rent-free on city land are:
- American Museum of Natural History
- Brooklyn Academy of Music
- Brooklyn Botanical Garden
- Brooklyn Children’s Museum
- Brooklyn Museum of Art
- Museum of the City of New York
- New York Botanical Garden
- New York Zoological Society [the Bronx Zoo]
- Queens Science Center/New York Hall of Science
- Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences [Staten Island Museum]
- Staten Island Zoological Society
- Wave Hill
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Here is what we know in terms of legal documentation:
- American Museum of Natural History [“AMNH”] ... Borough of Manhattan
Similarly with Ch. 476 of the Met Museum’s 1893 Law, Ch. 31, states the following in Section 1 regarding AMNH:
American museum of natural history shall be kept open and accessible to the public hereafter free of charge throughout the year for five days in each week, one of which shall be Sunday afternoon, and also two evenings of each week …
This legislation should be reviewed to understand its meaning and whether it has been amended or repealed.
AMNH’s website states its current admissions policy as “Pay-what-you-wish” “available only at ticket counters, where the amount you pay is up to you.” In larger and much darker typeface, the site lists “General Admission” of $23 or $28 or $33 depending on whether or not extra exhibitions and/or shows are included. [See FA's Blog #5]
2. Brooklyn Academy of Music [BAM] ... borough of Brooklyn
Found online in the "Manual of the Common Council of the City of Brooklyn", at p. 47, it is reported that "AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, Passed March 19, 1859". Free admission is restricted to "original subscriber[s]" as follows:
Every original subscriber of five hundred dollars and upwards, shall be entitled, ,under such regulations as may be established by the directors, to a free admission for every ten shares of stock so subscribed.
This legislation should be reviewed to understand its meaning and whether it has been amended or repealed.
3. Brooklyn Botanical Garden ... borough of Brooklyn
Record. Brooklyn, NY, October 1913. Vol. II, No. 4
Since a consecutive account of the organization of the Garden, and the various steps leading thereto, has never appeared in a Garden publication, it has been thought desirable to place the matter on record at this time.
Ch. 509 of 1897 established a “Botanic Garden and Arboretum for the collection and culture of plants … for the entertainment, recreation and instruction of the people”. Commission of Parks of the City of Brooklyn [NOW A BOROUGH of NYC] specific portions of Prospect Park. Subsequently integrated into the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. ...
Next law is that of Ch. 618 of Laws of 1906. In spring of 1907, a form of agreement is struck between City and the Institute, approved by the Board of Park Commissioners of the City and by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. This contract is described in Brooklyn Botanic Garden Record, volume I, pages 7-16, January, 1912.
As to admission it is stated at p. 12
Free Admission to Ground sand Buildings. NINTH. – It is mutually understood and agreed that said botanic garden and arboretum shall be open and accessible to the public without any charge or gratuity on a portion at least, of every day of the year, under such rules and regulations as the party of the second part may from time to time prescribe; but it is expressly understood and agreed that the party of the second part shall have the privilege of closing the plant houses or rooms for instruction to the public until 2 o’clock in the afternoon on two days in the week for the purpose of scientific research and for the cleaning or re-arranging of collections or apparatus in said plant houses and rooms of instruction. Admission to said houses and rooms of instruction during such closed hours shall be regulated by the part of the second party, but all professors and teachers in the public and private schools or other institutions of learning in New York City, and pupils accompanied by said teacher, shall be admitted on such closed days, subject to the rules and regulations of the party of the second part; but in no case shall there by any charge for the use of the plant house or rooms for instruction, or for the use of the library, collections, plants and apparatus contained therein.
This legislation should be reviewed to understand its meaning and whether it has been amended or repealed.
Time of year impacts days and hours of admission. Summer hours begin on March 1. the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's website advises that an admission fee of $15 is required for adults and $8 for each of seniors and students with i.d.
4. Brooklyn Children's Museum ... borough of Brooklyn
FA's research only uncovered a pertinent date of December 16, 1899. Further research as to free admission needs to be done.
5. Brooklyn Museum of Art [initially Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences] ... borough of Brooklyn
Ch. 172 of the Laws of 1890. An Act to incorporate the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and to authorize the Brooklyn Institute to assign and convey its property thereto.
Sec. 3 The museums and libraries of said Corporation shall be open and free to the public and private schools of said city at all reasonable times, and open to the general public on such terms of admission as shall be approved by the Mayor and Park Commissioner of said city.
This legislation should be reviewed to understand its meaning and whether it has been amended or repealed.
The Brooklyn Museum's website reports admission fees [under bold ADMISSION text] of $16 for adults and $10 for seniors and students with valid i.d. Visitors with disabilities are charged $10, with the care partner admitted free of charge. Off to the side, and in smaller text, the prospective visitor is advised that "the general admission prices are suggested contribution amounts and are not applicable to special ticketed exhibitions." The prospective visitors is then advised to "get details about group tours and school groups". Despite the free admission mandate, the Brooklyn Museum charges fees for individual and group school visits.
6. Museum of the City of New York [MCNY] ... borough of Manhattan
Found in an online Masters Thesis published online and then removed. O’Halloran, Erin. (2003) The Museum of the City of New York and The New York Historical Society: An Analysis of the Cultural Institutions Group [CIG]. Arizona State University.
The Museum must be open to the public for free on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am until ½ an hour before sunset. Mondays and Tuesday is up to the discretion of the Museum. Likewise, Professors and Schoolteachers of public or free schools must be given free access to the collection, libraries or any other vital part of the Museum that may arise. [emphasis added]
The current admissions policy as stated on the website is “Suggested Admission’ of $18 for adults.
7. New York Botanical Garden [“Botanical Garden”]... borough of The Bronx
Chapter 285 of the Laws of 1891, an Act to establish the botanical garden, states:
The said grounds shall be open and free to the public daily, including Sundays … [emphasis added]
The current admissions policy of the Botanical Garden is that tickets are needed [need to be purchased] for all visitors. There is a grounds-only pass available to NYC residents only for a fee of $15 for adults. Admission is free to everyone regardless of residency all day on Wednesdays and from 9-10 am on Saturdays.
8. New York Zoological Society [the Bronx Zoo] ... borough of The Bronx
Chapter 435 of the Laws of 1895, an Act to incorporate the Zoological Society and to provide for the establishment of a zoological garden states in Section 8:
Admission to the said garden shall be free to the public for at least four days, one of which shall be Sunday, in each week … [emphasis added]
Then, at a March 24, 1897 meeting, a Resolution was reported to have been passed to Ch. 435 allotting South Bronx Park for use of the New York Zoological Society upon conditions entirely satisfactory to the Society and that states as follows:
The said Zoological Garden and its collections shall be free to the public without the payment of any admission fee or gratuity whatsoever for not less than seven hours a day on at least five days of the week, one of which shall be Sunday and also on all legal holidays and half holidays … [emphasis added]
In addition, it stated that
… the portion of the ground situate each of the Boston Road and all the Bronx River below the Boston Road bridge shall be open to the public at all times as pleasure grounds …”
The current admissions policy of the Bronx Zoo as stated on their website is that there is Winter Total Experience admission fee of $28.95 for adults..
9. Queens Science Center/New York Hall of Science [NYSCI] ... borough of Queens
FA research did not uncover any information regarding NYSCI.
10. Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences [Staten Island Museum] ... borough of Staten Island
Chapter 526 of the Laws of 1905, an Act to incorporate the Staten Island association of arts and sciences and to provide for the care and housing of its museum and library by the city of New York, states the following in Section 8:
The museum, collection and library of the said Staten Island association of arts and sciences shall be open and free to the public at all reasonable times … [emphasis added]
The current admissions policy as stated on the Staten Island Museum website is a Suggested Admission of $8 for adults.
11. Staten Island Zoological Society [SI Zoo] ... borough of Staten Island
FA research only uncovered the date of incorporation and the SI Zoo's opening; i.e., July 24, 1934 and July 10, 1936, respectively. Expecting free admission provisions to exist, they should be identified, published and enforced.
The SI Zoo's current admissions policy published on its website requires a payment of $10 from adults [15-59]; $7 for seniors [60 and over]; $6 from children [3-14]. Free admission after 2:00 pm on Wednesdays.
12. Wave Hill ... borough of The Bronx
It appears that Wave Hill is a non-profit, using philanthropic dollars to fund its operations and programs. On its website, there appears to be no admission fee. A description of Wave Hill is as follows:
In 1960, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded Wave Hill to the City of New York; Wave Hill, Inc., was formed in 1965 as a non-profit corporation. Today, as one of 33 City-owned cultural institutions, Wave Hill provides an oasis of serenity and offers programs in Horticulture, Environmental Education, Woodland Management and the Visual and Performing Arts. Through the arts and sciences, Wave Hill seeks to foster connections between people and nature.
13. The Metropolitan Museum of Art -- the New Admission Policy [the Met Museum] ... borough of Manhattan
The Met Museum changed its admissions policy in March of 2018 to charge a fee to visitors from outside New York state. The fee is a mandatory one of $25 for adults. New Yorkers and students from New Jersey and Connecticut are advised that "the amount you pay is up to you". Please see the Home-About Us section on this website for further information. However, this policy change does not render the Met Museum compliant with contracts and NYS law.
With a non-New Yorker admission fee, which FA agrees the Museum can charge, it is in the Museum's economic interest to be compliant. Why, FA wonders, do Met Museum trustees and administrations and City and State leaders continue to ignore this economic truth?
As noted in Home/About Us, FA has calculated that if the Museum were to charge a non-New Yorker $10 fee, the Met Museum could collect $5,563,750 more than its current “pay as you wish” policy provides. And if the Met Museum received $25 per visitor [the current adult fee] from visitors from outside of New York State, it would receive an astounding $85,159,375 in additional admissions fee income – and that’s with all NYers entering free of charge, five days and two evenings in the week, in compliance with the law and vision of 19th century statesmen and the Museum's Founding Fathers.
FA supports, and clearly Met Museum trustees and administrators and City and State leaders should support, a compliant Museum. FA's calculations demonstrate a compliant Museum is a clear win-win and legally responsible antidote to the Museum’s much-publicized “red ink” operating costs – at least as of now in 2018. [see FA's History/Economic Advantage section]