Whitney Donhauser, director of the Museum of the City of New York, had hoped that, next Thursday, the museum’s rooms would house their first masked and socially estranged visitors.
Not so fast, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said Friday. Cuomo said that when New York City enters Phase 4 of its reopening plan on Monday, indoor cultural attractions, shopping malls and indoor restaurants will not reopen yet.
“We are not going to have any indoor activities in shopping malls or cultural institutions,” Cuomo said in a conference call. “We will continue to monitor that situation, and when the facts change, we will let you know.” He added that he was seeing the potential of a second wave: “an artificial wave” with the potential to arrive by plane, car, and train from the west and south, where Covid-19 cases are increasing.
“We are still in a precarious position, not because of anything we’ve done, but because of the negligence of the federal government and the states that frankly listen to the federal government,” Cuomo added. “I am very concerned about the spread that we see across the country and the inevitability that the spread is here.”
Zoos and botanical gardens will be reopened at 33 percent of capacity. Four urban zoos plan to reopen to the public on July 24 at limited capacity, with masks required for all visitors over the age of 3.
The New York Botanical Garden has announced plans to reopen on July 28, and visitors must reserve scheduled entry tickets in advance.
Monday had been the earliest date that cultural venues could potentially have reopened, but most of the city’s museums had taken a wait-and-see approach, with a few exceptions.
The Museum of the City of New York had announced plans to reopen on July 23. Fotografiska, a photography museum in the Flatiron District that opened last December, only to close its doors in mid-March, had initially planned for July 29, with admission admission time in half-hour increments and overall capacity. 25 percent. But the museum announced Thursday, even before the governor’s announcement on Friday, that it would be postponed.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced weeks ago that it would reopen on August 29, and it remains to be seen if the virus situation in the city will remain stable enough for cultural attractions to reopen on that date. “Embedded in our announcement is that it is simply a plan, which of course is still subject to state and city approval, and this week’s public health developments underscore exactly why that is the case,” said Kenneth Weine, main spokesperson for the Metropolitan Museum. of art.
Many institutions, such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, have not publicly announced their plans to reopen.
Ms. Donhauser said in an interview Thursday that while supporting the governor’s decision, the museum is confident that it can reopen and keep visitors safe. She said the museum’s small size and simple design make it easy for visitors to navigate socially. “We are ready to leave as soon as the governor tells us we can,” he said.
Many museums are already planning measures to protect visitors once they are allowed to return. The Museum of the City of New York will use a scheduled ticketing system and will limit visitors to 25 percent of its capacity. Plexiglass barriers will separate ATMs from visitors, and touchscreen experiences will be temporarily closed.
The Met has said it will require masks and will also limit visitors to a quarter of the museum’s capacity. The New York Historical Society, which is now planning a reopening of September 11, will also require masks for anyone over the age of 2, provide hand sanitizing stations, and perform temperature checks for all staff and visitors.
In Los Angeles, some museums opened in mid-June, only to close earlier this month after an order from California Governor Gavin Newsom when coronavirus cases emerged in the state. Several Texas museums, including the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, delayed plans to reopen after a similar increase in cases in Dallas County.
New York City is the only region that has not yet entered Phase 4 of Mr. Cuomo’s reopening plan. Regions outside the city began entering Phase 4 in late June.
Mayor Bill de Blasio had voiced similar concerns Thursday about reopening interior spaces too soon.
“The outdoor elements that I feel good and confident about as long as we are clear about the standards and the application,” said Mr. de Blasio. “The interior is causing me to pause.”
“There cannot be a slippery slope there,” the mayor continued. “The challenge is indoors and we have to be very strict about it. I think there are substantial elements of Phase 4 that can move forward. Others, we have to be very careful and deliberate. ”
