NYC is home to some of the most iconic museums in the world. The MoMA, the American Museum of Natural History and of course, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in other words, the Met. Like most museums, the Met has long been one of the museums to not charge a set price but rather suggest one as one can pay what they would like to enter the museum. Soon, that may not be the case.

On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed the concept of visitors outside New York City to pay admission. It has been a controversial subject, as the Met has been a taxpayer-supported museum, and only has “suggested” rates that rarely anyone pays.

This idea has yet to be finalized and comes with some troubles from the museum. According to the New York Times, the Met is tackling a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, roughly around $15 million. Something that comes as a shock as the museum has always been known for its success, art, and over the top gala on the first Monday of May of each year. City officials have spoken to the museum behind closed doors where talks about a mandatory fee were put on the table.

It won’t be easy to only let in “New Yorker’s” for free, as questions are coming up on how to validate that someone is New York City, how fair is it to charge people who work in the city but commute, and how much the fee would be.

The museum is considered a “public institution” and could have some consequences, as it serves millions of visitors, tourists, and even de Blasio’s re-election campaign.

The fees would only benefit the museum in giving it a revenue stream, meaning it would be able to up what it once had. Just last year the museum had to cut staff, and reduce exhibitions, going from 60 to 40. It would also mean people would see the fee as a way for the museum to solves it’s financial issues and could hurt them by having visitors and tourist pay.

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