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.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.