By Jyoti Thottam
PS 1 in Long Island City and Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art expect to announce final details of their merger within the next few weeks, officials at both institutions said.
The planned merger, which was first announced last February, was initially set to take effect last spring. But the logistics of marrying a modern art titan with its upstart cousin have taken much longer than expected.
“The affiliation has not been finalized yet, but it's close,” said Mary Lou Strahlendorff, a spokeswoman for MoMA.
“A few weeks ago, we were thinking it would have happened by now,” said Juliet Cook, a spokeswoman for PS 1. “It could be any day now.”
During a budget hearing Tuesday morning at Borough Hall, PS 1 director Alanna Heiss said the merger agreement was finalized a few weeks ago, but the two institutions have not yet made a formal announcement.
Because PS 1 at 46-01 21st St. receives the bulk of its funding from the city as part of the specially designated “cultural institutions group,” various city agencies, community groups and civic leaders have been involved in the negotiations.
“Nothing is final until the government agencies have approved it,” Strahlendorff said. “The government doesn't move at a certain schedule.”
PS 1 expects to retain its CIG status, but the amount of support it receives from the city may change after the merger, museum officials said. The center received $637,693 of its $1.5 million budget from the Department of Cultural Affairs in fiscal 1998.
PS 1's bookkeeping also stalled the negotiations for a time. An audit released last June by the city comptroller's office found “problems with PS 1's financial and personnel practices,” including personal items bought on corporate charge cards and $78,000 in unreported consultant's fees.
“We're better organized now,” said William Murray, a spokesman for PS 1.
Murray said the credit card charges mentioned in the audit have been reimbursed and the consultant's fees were reported. PS 1 also restored to full time its accounting staff, which had been cut during the museum's renovation.z
As administrators hammered out the details of the merger, the two museums' curators were preparing for their first joint exhibit, planned for Feb. 27 at PS 1. The exhibit, “Greater New York,” will feature the work of more than 100 artists living in the New York area.
Murray said the exhibit will exemplify the type of collaboration made possible by the merger of the two institutions.
“We hope this and more,” he said.
The future of MoMA's other interest in Long Island City, the former Swingline Stapler Co. building at 45-20 33rd St., is still uncertain.
“We bought the Swingline building last August, planning to use it for various functions,” including exhibition space, storage space or workshops, Strahlendorff said.
MoMA has no present plans to use the building for exhibition space, and Strahlendorff called reports to that effect “speculation.”
