View Full Version : MoMA Packing Up For Return To Manhattan


New Jack City
September 28th, 2004, 03:31 AM
$20 a fare to get in now?! What a rip off.

NY1

MoMA Packing Up For Return To Manhattan

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SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2004

Monday is the last day to visit MoMA Queens before the art museum packs up and moves back to Manhattan.

The museum will reopen in its Midtown home on November 20, concluding a two-year, $800 million facelift.

Admission to the renovated building will take a huge jump, to $20.

The industrial building that served as the museum's temporary home in Long Island City, Queens, will be used for storage space, although museum officials have not ruled out using it for future exhibitions.

NY1’s Jenifer Slaw has more in the following report.

The Museum of Modern Art has been at its Long Island City, Queens, location for only about two years, and people here knew it would eventually be leaving. But, in that time, they still began to view it as a landmark for the neighborhood.

“It's like a beacon. It's like a special blue box that stands there and you walk into it and something magic happens,” said one observer. “And look around; the rest of the street is a parking lot.”

Monday was the last day to see exhibitions at MoMA's temporary home on 33rd Street and Queens Boulevard. The museum will re-open on November 20th at its Manhattan address after the most extensive rebuilding project in its history.

But one New Yorker says MoMA should stay in Queens: “It's more multi-cultural, and a little more accessible to those who usually wouldn't go to the city.”

While the presence of MoMA in Queens did help out the businesses here, many do say they existed before the museum came to town, and they'll still be here when it leaves.

Marcos Pesantez is a manager of the New Thompson's Diner, located right next door to the museum. He says while MoMA helped business for awhile, he'll be able to stay afloat just fine without it.

“I have my regular crowd, so I'm not that worried about it,” he said. “Unfortunately, it's leaving. There's nothing we can do.”

But Pesantez doesn't deny he was thrilled when MoMA opened on the same block.

“I was so happy because the line was all the way around here. It was nice,” he said. “MoMA helped out a lot, not only for me but for everybody else.”

A lot of street vendors lining the block of 33rd Street raked in the cash from museum-goers passing by. One vendor says she'll just move locations once MoMA leaves town.

“If closed, no-one will come here,” said the woman. “I don't worry because it is New York and I will find a new place.”

While many businesses say they'll survive MoMA’s departure, there are still residents that argue their neighborhood will never be the same. But, like art, it depends on your point of view.

- Jenifer Slaw

Ellatur
September 28th, 2004, 03:57 AM
what was the renovation about? did they build a new building or did they just repaint and stuff?

cincobarrio
September 28th, 2004, 04:09 AM
what was the renovation about? did they build a new building or did they just repaint and stuff?
I think they had to expand.

FerrariEnzo
September 28th, 2004, 04:25 AM
^yes

LeCom
September 28th, 2004, 05:01 AM
They, like, built a whole new building on the site

bagel
September 28th, 2004, 09:40 AM
The thing is, with or without MoMa, Long Island City and connecting neighborhoods were already beginning to be magnets for the arts. Especially with rents going higher in the current artsy areas of Brooklyn, LIC will not stop being a place for the arts-- especially with the Noguchi Museum, Astoria Motion Picture Studios and PS 1 right there. I'm not worried for Queens.

Third of a kind
September 29th, 2004, 09:12 PM
LIC has been a place for the arts since the early 80's

i'm going to tell you this, there's this little food spot right next to moma qns, right when moma came dude upped his prices very crazy...I can remember when they had the picasso matisse exhibit..it seemed like dude upped his prices for this event..

but on a side note the african/nogauchi musuem is very nice....I know alot of you guys like skyline shots...well right when your in the museum (its on the 3rd floor..or something like that, well its the top floor in the building) you get a really nice shot of midtown


did that article say the admiss to the new build would be $20? shee***T, thank god for my school id

I think it would be good if moma kept there qns spot open, its a nice laid back spot