Metropolitan Museum Of Art Considers Mandatory Entrance Fees For Non-City Residents
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is endorsing a plan to charge out-of-towners a fee to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The mayor stresses that the entrance fee should only apply to non-city residents.
"I think that would be fair to ask non-city residents, obviously many of whom are our 60 million tourists to pay a little more, I'm a big fan of Russian oligarchs paying more to get into the Met," de Blasio said Wednesday.
The Met, which is taxpayer funded, has been dealing with a multi-million dollar budget deficit.
Currently there's a "suggested" entrance fee of $25, but a donation is not mandatory.
"Perhaps they should do it for everyone, rather than just for out-of-towners," said one woman who lives in the neighborhood.
"If people aren't happy with the price that might deter them from coming," said a man from Rockland.
"Culture is in general underfunded in the United States," a tourist from Alabama said, adding that she'd be happy to pay a fee.
"The more accessible the museum is in terms of entry fees the better. I'd prefer it didn't change, but I think it is important to prioritize locals," another woman said.
Currently, 63 percent of the Met's 7 million annual visitors come from outside New York state. Officials are still calculating how a fee might change the visiting habits of tourists.
The museum receives $26 million a year from the city, which owns the Met's buildings.
There are no specifics about how much the museum would charge.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)