NYC, Metropolitan Museum weigh mandatory admission fees

NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Museum of New York and the city government are weighing charging admission for the first time in the museum’s nearly 125-year history.

The New York Times reports (http://nyti.ms/2p6QAqb ) that Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed the idea of having the Met charge admission for visitors from outside of New York City.

The museum, a taxpayer-supported institution established in 1893, currently has a “suggested” entrance fee of $25 for adult visitors. The museum had been in discussion with de Blasio’s administration on how to close the museum’s current budget deficit of $15 million.

Currently, 63 per cent 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.