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Update: The Museum Of The City Of New York's plan to re-open on July 23 have been postponed.
"The Museum of the City of New York trusts the experts and supports the Governor's decision," it said in a statement. "While we are disappointed to postpone our re-opening, our primary goal is for New Yorkers to be as safe as possible. To that end, we will continue to follow all of the guidelines and look forward to welcoming people back inside of the Museum when it is deemed safe to do so."
With the launching of Phase 4 possibly happening as soon as July 20, NYC's cultural institutions will once again be permitted to welcome visitors, albeit with social distancing measures in place. In anticipation of this (new) normalcy, a couple of museums—The Metropolitan Museum Of Art and The New-York Historical Society—have already announced re-opening dates in August. Now, The Museum Of The City Of New York is following suit, only it plans to re-open on July 23. Naturally, crowds can expect a very different experience.
For one thing, the number of people allowed inside will be limited to 25 percent of capacity, and they will need timed tickets purchased online to enter (there will be some available at the door). Everyone above the age of two will be required to wear masks, as will the staff, who will be further protected by plastic barriers installed wherever they come into contact with the public.
Social distancing markers will be in place, and traffic flow through the building will be one way, with visitors entering on Fifth Avenue and exiting on 104th Street. Similarly, staircases will be designated as up or down only, and elevators will be limited to two persons at a time if they are not part of the same household.
The MCNY hours continue to be 10pm to 6pm, but instead of being opened daily as before, the museum will close on Tuesday and Wednesdays for cleaning, which is also performed each day after visiting hours. Galleries will be open, except for interactive exhibits, and lectures and other programming will continue online.
One of the exhibitions that will be on view, "New York at Its Core, Activist New York, Who We Are," charts the history of protest in NYC since its founding—which seems only appropriate, given the tumultuous events of the past several months.
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