Upper East Side Museums Reopen This Week: What To Know

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Museums around New York City began to reopen to the public on Monday, more than a week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave them the green light to allow visitors at up to 25 percent occupancy.

The Upper East Side may enjoy the city’s greatest wealth of museums, but the institutions have sat mostly empty for five months, after closing their doors in March as the coronavirus took hold.

Many big names in the neighborhood, from the Met to the Guggenheim, plan some form of reopening over the next several weeks. Here’s the rundown.

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum: the museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, remains closed until further notice, according to its website.

Frick Collection: the museum inside Henry Clay Frick’s East 70th Street mansion also remains closed, due to both the pandemic and a major renovation and expansion of its historic buildings. The Frick plans to reopen in early 2021 with a new, temporary location at the Met Breuer: the former Whitney Museum building on Madison Avenue at East 75th Street.

Guggenheim Museum: the Guggenheim reopens to the public on Oct. 3, with special access offered to members and patrons from Sept. 30-Oct. 2. The museum said that “new measures will be in place that focus on your health and safety” inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fifth Avenue building.

Jewish Museum: the museum on 5th Avenue and 92nd Street remains temporarily closed, according to its website.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: likely the most anticipated reopening of all, the Met is opening Aug. 29 for visitors, and Aug. 27-28 for members. The museum will have a number of protocols in place, including temperature checks, required face coverings and timed tickets by reservation only. The Met, hit hard by the pandemic, has said it stands to lose as much as $150 million and has laid off dozens of staff.

Met Breuer: the Met’s outpost at the former Whitney Museum location on Madison Ave. is closing permanently, the museum announced in June. Instead, control of the space was transferred to the Frick Collection — a swap that was arranged before the pandemic (see above).

El Museo del Barrio: the Uptown Latin American and Carribean art museum will reopen Sept. 12 with temperature screening, required physical distancing, and other health protocols.

Museum of the City of New York: the 103rd Street museum is reopening to the public on Thursday, with free admission through Sept. 14. It offers timed tickets that can be reserved in advance, and has several health protections in place.

Morgan Library & Museum: the Morgan will offer public tickets starting Aug. 26 ahead of its Sept. 5 reopening, and members can visit from Sept. 2-4. Safety protocols include required face coverings, advanced ticket purchases and social distancing rules.

Neue Galerie: the German and Austrian art museum says it will announce a reopening plan “in the weeks ahead,” according to an Aug. 14 message on its website.