Several arts museums and cultural establishments in New York City closed or delayed their opening hours immediately, September 29, as extreme rainfall from the leftovers of Tropical Storm Ophelia resulted in a deluge of life-threatening flash floods, numerous public transportation disruptions, widespread power outages, and roadway blockages throughout the Northeast area.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan canceled its night packages scheduled for tonight and introduced that its Fifth Avenue location will shut at 5pm “due to inclement weather.” In Long Island City, Queens, the Noguchi Museum remained closed all day in response to excessive flooding that overwhelmed Vernon Boulevard alongside the East River, the place the humanities establishment is positioned.
“It was pretty wild this morning, but our team worked on clearing a few blocked storm drains along our stretch of Vernon and thankfully the water has started to go down,” Amelia Grohman of the Noguchi Museum instructed Hyperallergic. The establishment skilled some delicate flooding in its basement; nonetheless, workers reported “no damage to artworks.”
By shortly after 10am, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for New York City, Long Island, and areas within the Hudson Valley due to the “extreme rainfall.” At 1:45pm, the National Weather Service reported that 4 to 7 inches of rain had fallen in Kings County in Brooklyn at a precipitation charge of half an inch to one inch per hour.
The arts middle Pioneer Works, primarily based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, additionally closed its gallery area immediately citing considerations for the protection of workers and guests. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso stated on X, previously generally known as Twitter, that his workplace had flood studies in at least 29 locations throughout the New York City borough.
In Manhattan, the Rubin Museum announced on-line shortly earlier than 1pm that it was canceling a cultural occasion scheduled for tonight “due to widespread flooding and substantial mass transit disruptions.”
Other cultural establishments that remained open immediately additionally skilled delayed hours, together with the Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art, each of which opened at midday due to the torrential downpours. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority additionally reported extreme disruptions throughout practice strains and urged commuters to keep residence.
