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With the Met Museum announcing a series of layoffs, it's not surprising to hear that visitors of the establishment aren't paying the full recommended admission fee. The NY Post reports that folks aren't willing to fork over the dough during the tough economic times, and many are just giving $1 (of the suggested $20) for their visit. For the Met and other NYC museums that have long shunned a set admission price, there's probably nothing they can do if they don't want to see a decrease in visitors. One recently laid off art lover told the paper, "If they didn't do it, I'm not sure I would come. I really appreciate that they allow me to pay on a sliding scale." There is one museum that hasn't taken a hit yet, the Museum of Natural History is still getting their $15 suggested price from visitors. A spokesman confirmed, "For the time being...people are paying the suggested donation." Survival of the fittest?
Museumgoers Shortchanging Museums
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Those Mariachi guys piss me off when you enter a mostly silent subway car.
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The Met is one of 30+ organizations that comprise the City's Cultural Institutions Group -- the City owns and maintains their building, and they receive a massive amount of City funding for their operations and capital improvements. The reason they do not have a set admission price is that in exchange for everything they get from our taxpayer dollars, the City mandates a "suggested" admission price.
I find they are still pretty heavy-handed at the admissions desk about getting the full amount.
Maybe they should lower the suggested asking price. The gold standard of $12 was universal until the MOMA allowed greed to dictate a new universal price, which was quickly matched by the city's other museums. At $20, it just seems like pure greed, and I imagine many visitors don't feel the least bit guilty short changing a greedy institution.
Well, some of us use the Corp Sponsorship to get in.
No One *I* Know of course...
as an archaeologist, i REFUSE to give more than the few measly pennies i do give the MET because they are well known for obtaining and displaying looted items that should be repatriated back to their countries of origin. may i suggest that you alter the headline to not use the word shortchange? the reality is that the MET is short changing others by continuing their poor purchasing practicing, maintaining close ties with those that have a history of buying unprovenienced items and giving those same and other wealthy people the opportunity to self-aggrandize.
beside, yes, they are effing loaded, loaded!
20 bucks is a bit steep, especially since I usually just want to see one or two exhibits at a time. The Frick has a pay as you wish on Sunday mornings which is very good. Does MOMA still have the Target free Fridays?
$5 sounds about right
I've always pull the full $20, but I've also always thought it was too much each time. Mark me down for $5 next time, Met!
I totally agree with peanuthead. All the stolen property inside these museums is worth millions/billions to the country/people they were stolen from. Maybe they could sell them back to raise cash. They will continue to get exactly $1 anytime I wish to go look at stolen artifacts from around the world. I was in DC all this past week and the Smithsonians are all FREE admission.
National History Museum hasn't suffered because they have it set up so you think you have to pay the full price. That has always bugged me, but hey... let the tourists pay I guess.
Yep, Natural History is part of the Cultural Institutions Group. Gobs of City money. My guess is that either the spokesperson was fibbing (they don't want it to get out that people are paying less than $15, lest everyone do it), or they are super heavy-handed about presenting it as a requirement.
I wish they'd come up with a compromise -- NYC residents can pay as they wish (since our tax dollars are already footing the bill), and out-of-towners have a set fee.
that's a great idea. lots of towns do that with park permits. do they really harangue you?
The Met is located in Central Park, taking up space that could be used for parkland. Giving $5 is more than enough considering they do not pay ANYTHING for their 5th Avenue address.
The Met is federally funded with tax dollars that means you can give 1ยข to $20+. The idea of the museum was so anyone, including the very poor can get in.
Tourists may visit our museums once or twice in a lifetime. In that sense, they should pay the full price and consider it a bargain. I and many other New Yorkers, on the other hand, visit the Met quite often and just one gallery or exhibit at a time.
There's no way I'm paying full price every time I go.
I agree with this. I support the Met and the city's other cultural institutions year-round through my tax dollars already. They don't need $20 from me every time I visit.
It's really a shame that so many of the city's other museums are inaccessible to city residents because the admission prices are so high. Perhaps the museums should take a cue from other localities and have different rates for city residents and tourists.
MoMA is not a CIG -- their price is not a 'suggested donation', it's a set fee. If you're a NYC resident and you go to MoMA more than once a year then it be silly not to become a Member.
As for the other CIG's, if they lowered their suggested price, more people would pay it. But $20 is a little much, especially if you're going with a family. It's true that the Museum of Natural History does push you to pay the entrance fee. I have heard first hand from their management that they train their staff very carefully on how to speak to guests purchasing tickets. They always say suggested donation, but not until after they ring up the tickets.
I just tell them that the $100 million endowment I gave them is in safe hands, in a Madoff fund.
I'm not shortchanging the Met when I give them $2-5 every time I visit. That's almost $50 a year, plus the $$ I spend in the gift shop and, more importantly, the invaluable introduction I make with them to my students. If they charged more money, just like MoMA, I wouldn't go with my students and they wouldn't know the place can be relevant in their lives.