Intrepid Museum To Reopen Following 3-Month Closure

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will welcome back visitors to its Hudson River ships in late March, nearly three months after it shut down for the winter, the institution announced Wednesday.

Starting March 25, the Intrepid will reopen four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Intrepid had closed starting Jan. 4 after imposing pay cuts and furloughs and laying off 5 percent of its staff amid a steep drop-off in visitors during the pandemic.

When the museum reopens with coronavirus precautions in place, the public will have new access to spaces aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid, including a bomb elevator, a newly restored pilot escalator and, starting in May, a recreated photo lab that documents the lives of crew members aboard the former warship.

Last week, the Intrepid was challenged by a neighborhood community board over its $1 per year lease with its landlord, the Hudson River Park Trust. Community Board 4 argued that the museum, which raked in $34 million in 2018, should pay closer to its market value rent of about $190,000.

An Intrepid spokesperson defended the proposed lease, which also provides for free programming for neighbors and an expansion of the Pier 86 deck, which is open to the public.

The museum is spread across multiple ships docked at Pier 86 at West 46th Street.

Previous coverage:

• Intrepid Museum's Sweet Deal On West Side Should End, Board Says
  
• Intrepid Museum Plans Layoffs, 3-Month Closure Amid Low Traffic