UPPER EAST SIDE — The Metropolitan Museum of Art has formally requested that the city allow it to charge non-residents of the state a mandatory admission fee, officials and reports say.
The Met announced that it was considering the move late last month, but the museum sent a letter to the city Department of Cultural Affairs last week seeking the change, officials said.
"Once the Met submits a full proposal, we will review it carefully," said Ryan Max, a spokesman for the agency, confirming the letter had been sent.
News of the request came during a court hearing Friday, when an attorney for the Met revealed that the proposal had been submitted, according to The New York Times.
In 2016, The Met reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding its $25 "recommended admission" that claimed the museum was misleading in its admission policy by using the word "recommended." As a result, the museum changed it to a $25 "suggested admission."
Bruce Kelly, an attorney for the museum, reportedly said during the Friday hearing that the suggested fee would only be for state residents and the mandatory fee would be for everyone else.
It was unclear how much the museum would charge and when it could take effect.
The application will ultimately be reviewed by the mayor's office since the city owns the building.
The Met and the mayor's office did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The fee is the most recent step The Met has taken to get its finances back in order.
In February, the museum reportedly made plans to reduce its number of exhibits from 60 to 40 a year, as well as delay a $600 million expansion for its modern and contemporary art. Its director, Thomas P. Campbell, has been blamed for the museum's debt and plans to resign on June 30.
