Press Release Archives #176-98 - Announces Major $650 Million Expansion Project At the Museum of Modern Art

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, April 23, 1998

Release #176-98

Contact: Colleen Roche/Brenda Perez (212) 788-2958

MAYOR GIULIANI ANNOUNCES MAJOR $650 MILLION EXPANSION PROJECT AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Museum of Modern Art Chairman Emeritus David Rockefeller today announced a major public-private $650 million expansion project at the world-renowned Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In a press conference at MoMA, the Mayor said that .over the next three years the City will contribute $65 million to the project, which is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2004, in time to observe MoMA's 75th Anniversary. Also on hand for the announcement were MoMA Art Director Glenn D. Lowry, MoMA President Agnes Gund, and Museum of Modern Art Expansion Committee Chairman Jerry Speyer.

The expansion project will include a new Educational and Research Center, a renovated Sculpture Garden, a doubling of MoMA's existing gallery space, the construction of a state-of-the-art storage and study facility in Queens, larger and improved stores and restaurants, and enhanced technological capabilities to develop an interactive "virtual" museum for educational purposes.

The City's contribution to the MoMA project will be $15 million in FY99, $20 million in FY00 and $30 million in FY01. Through private sources, MoMA has committed to contribute $585 million and, to date, has raised $200 million.

"The Museum of Modern Art is one of New York City's greatest cultural resources and I am very pleased to join in this partnership. We are investing in the future by helping to preserve, enhance and expand an invaluable cultural treasure," Mayor Giuliani said. "I want to thank everyone involved in bringing The Museum of Modern Art to its next stage of development. This is truly a great day for the City."

Longtime Museum Trustee David Rockefeller said, "This major expansion is the most important project since the Museum's founding in 1929. The City's investment in MoMA's future will have long-term benefits for the people of New York City."

New York City will receive a significant economic benefit from the newly expanded Museum of Modern Art:

during the construction/expansion phase and the first year of operation, it is projected that 1,849 permanent jobs and 916 construction jobs will be created;
once the new museum opens, direct, indirect and visitor spending is expected to increase 78 percent, rising from $356.7 million to $636.1 million per year -- as the number of visitors increases by 66 percent;
during the first year of operation, tax revenues to the City are expected to rise 80 percent, from the current $17.8 million to $32.1 million annually; and
total tax impact to New York City will be $154 million over the life of the expansion project (including $54 million contributed during the three-year planning phase, $68 million during the four-year construction phase, and $32 million in the first year of operation (2004).

Museum Director Glenn D. Lowry said, "The Museum of Modern Art is and always has been an urban museum, which captures the pulse and the beat of the City of New York. Inspired partnerships like this do much to further the cause of the arts in the country, and to help ensure the cultural vitality of major urban centers."

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