June 27, 2006

NY's best (affordable) membership privileges

It's true that membership has its privileges, and in some clubs more so than others. The same holds true when choosing which of New York City's cultural institutions can offer the most special VIP treatment for your bucks -- beyond the warm fuzzies you get from doing good.

Most museum memberships will get you early access to exhibitions, let you bypass the lines, offer discounts at the gift shop and even get you into spaces normally off-limits to the regular folks. In addition to the tax deduction, some pay for themselves if you visit the museum only twice a year.

A simple $40 membership contribution to the New York Public Library at the friend level will get you (at no extra charge,) two tickets to the Holiday Open House, where you're allowed to roam the otherwise off-limits book shelves under Bryant Park. A $100 membership will get you four of the ducats. Library supporters get discounts in the Library Gift Shop, and soon, also when buying images from the online digital gallery. (The $40 sponsorship is fully tax-deductible, while $64 of the $100 one is.)

For another exclusive bonus, the New York Transit Museum has started special members-only tours of the elegant century-old, now unused, original City Hall subway station. The July 9 tour, which costs $20, is sold out, but there will be more tours in September, according to Gabrielle Shubert, the museum's director. She said members also get first dibs at reserving spots for all tours, and have also been able to ride the historic trains at times non-members were only able to come for a look. The privileges come even with a regular $40 friend membership, which also gets you free access to the Transit Museum and discounts in the gift shop. $37 of the $40 contribution is tax-deductible.

One of the best ways around two of the longest museum lines in town -- at the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History -- is to buy a basic membership onsite rather than wait in line.

The $75 individual MoMA membership, (which is 100 percent tax deductible,) gets you line-free access for a year to the museum and its films, a 10 percent discounts at the gift shop and you can bring a friend with you any time for a $5 fee you can pay at the membership desk. Regular museum admission is $20; films cost $10 extra.

At the natural history museum, the family membership is probably the way to go -- even if you're only visiting once. For $115, ($90 is tax-deductible,) you get free admission for two adults and up to four children. That also includes free admission to most of the special extra-priced shows (such as "Darwin" through August 20 or "Lizards & Snakes Alive" opening July 1,) along with discounts to the space show, IMAX, and parking and gift shop purchases. The regular admission price for adults is $14 and $8 for children. Or it's $30 per adult and $19 per child for a package of museum admission, the space show, an IMAX film and one special exhibition.

Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are free to anyone willing to wait in line for a chance at a pair to see Liev Schreiber in "Macbeth" or Meryl Streep on "Mother Courage," but for a contribution of at least $150 (up from $100 in 2005,) you can become a summer sponsor and get one advance ticket to one show -- no lines.

Along the same lines, Central Park SummerStage supporters get to use the members entrance for an entirely tax-deductible contribution of only $50. A $150 devotee contribution ($140 is tax-deductible,) gets you reserved bleacher seating for all free SummerStage concerts for you and a guest, first-come, first-served.

And finally, a membership at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will give you the ability to make summertime dining reservations during specified hours for the Trustees Dining Room. The food, which you have to pay for, isn't spectacular, but you'll be at eye level with the top of Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park. Memberships start at $50 for anyone who lives more than 200 miles from New York City or $85 for a regular individual.

Earlier: Lineup announced for Central Park Summerstage
Meryl Streep in 'Mother Courage' dates announced
Schreiber cast in Shakespeare in the Park's 'Macbeth'
Museum crowd strategies (ask the garlic eaters)
$100 donation for free Shakespeare in the Park ticket
Old City Hall station opened to public on centennial

June 27, 2006 03:29 PM in Architecture, Cheap Stuff, Kids, Museums, Shopology, Tours

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