Brooklyn Museum, Lincoln Center Among New York’s Designated Cooling Centers This Summer

With what is expected to be the hottest summer on record upon us, many people will seek temporary relief from the extreme conditions of heatwaves, as they did earlier this month, in unlikely places: museums and cultural institutions.

In New York, three of the city’s cultural institutions have been tapped to combat how residents deal with the heat, serving as cooling centers, public and private spaces that have been made available to help people deal with these extreme conditions at no cost to them. This year, Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York will take part in a new city-wide program that went into effect on June 18.

All three are part of the Cultural Institutions Group, consisting of 34 organizations who are housed in city-owned property; other CIGs include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, MoMA PS1, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and the Queens Museum.

Last month, Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) announced the Beat the Heat initiative, which offers tips for staying cool. Among them is visiting one of the more than 500 cooling centers across the five boroughs. These air-conditioned centers are activated during heat waves, defined by the city as two or more days over 95º F or one day over 100º F. Cooling centers are free and open to the public however their hours of operation depend on the location. This year’s roll out of the Beat the Heat program features the Cooling Options Map, which allows New Yorkers to find the closest cooling center to them by searching by location or keyword.

Offering temporary relief from the heat, these cooling centers can also be a huge help to low-income individuals who might not have access to air conditioning or be concerned about running up their electric bill over the summer, as well as unhoused people whose access to these venues can be lifesaving. Additionally, cooling centers can reduce the strain on the city’s power grid.

Last year, the Brooklyn Museum was the only cultural institution to be a designated cooling center, alongside senior centers, community centers, and NYCHA facilities, among others. The city has also partnered with Petco to make pet-friendly cooling centers available as well.

“We are proud to serve as a cooling center for our local communities this summer,” said Kimberly Panicek (KP) Trueblood, president and chief operating officer of the Brooklyn Museum. “Our doors are open to provide a comfortable and safe environment where residents can escape the heat, enjoy our exhibits, and experience the arts in a cool and welcoming space. We are committed to supporting our community in every season and look forward to offering a respite from the summer sun.”

The branches of the city’s three public library systems have long served as cooling centers. Since 2023, they have reduced their hours, including being closed on Sundays. After public outcry over their operating hours, the Adams administration announced on Thursday that it would restore $58.3 million to the libraries for the 2025 fiscal year budget, which would allow them to reopen. During last week’s heat wave, there were multiple reports of broken air conditioners in several libraries across the city; two locations in Staten Island closed, and two locations in Manhattan went without air conditioning but stayed open with the use of large industrial fans.

The Beat the Heat initiative comes on the heels of last year’s severe temperatures, offering people more options to our new reality of new extreme weather events brought about by climate change. Last June saw some of the worst air quality in New York in over 60 years due to Canadian wildfires, which made it hard to breathe outside, tinted the sky orange, and produced a series of eerie photos that circulated widely on social media.

Jerry Gallagher, the Museum of the City of New York’s COO, told ARTnews the institution was happy to participate in the campaign. “For us, it was an easy decision. We always aim to help and support our local community and offer assistance whenever possible, whether that’s via our exhibitions, our programs, or partnering with the city for offerings such as this,” he said.

Last year, 350 people died in the city due to heat related causes, according to the mayor’s office, and by expanding the range of cooling centers, with museums being some of the largest spaces in the program, the aim is to help to save lives in the process. A spokesperson for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs said that more cultural institutions will likely be added as cooling centers in the coming weeks, with partner sites chosen to target “areas of the city with high levels of anticipated summer traffic.”

Over the past several weeks, NYCEM has worked with these institutions to help prepare them to become a cooling center. In order to be one, they must be air conditioned, staffed, have drinking water, give a point of contact, operate between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., and be able to accommodate at least 10 visitors.

Kate D. Levin, who oversees Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts Program and was the commissioner of cultural affairs from 2002 to 2013 said that adding museums as cooling centers will help these institutions better serve their communities by acting as new kinds of spaces for social gatherings.

“Cultural institutions are a key part of the public realm in New York City,” she said. “In many cases, these buildings are especially well-designed for programs like ‘Beat the Heat,’ with lobbies and other spaces designed to accommodate large numbers of people, providing seating, bathrooms, and other amenities for congregating.”