I just read an online article about this. According to the article, New York state residents can get free admission to NYC museums via the New York Public Library system. The article said it works like this:
Anybody who is a resident anywhere in New York state can get a New York City library card through their website. There is no charge.
If you have a NYC library card, you can reserve a free museum pass for a specific date at the start of the month. These passes are apparently good for up to two adults and two children. They give you free admission at a number of museums in NYC.
Is anybody familiar with this program? Has anybody used it? Has anybody from outside of NYC used it?
Some specific questions on how you get the pass. Do you need to pick up a physical pass or is it an online thing? If it’s a physical pass, do you have to pick it up at a specific library branch? Do you pick it up on the date you are going to the museum or on the day you make the reservation?
I do not specifically have experience with the culture pass in NYC, but I live 80 miles or so north of “the city” and my library has a similar program. I’ll give you some details–I suspect there are a lot of similarities.
Mine is called the MAP program (museums, attractions, parks). There are something like 70 places you can use them, most in NYS relatively close to me, but some in NYC and a number in other more outlying areas, notably CT, MA, and NJ as well as the Adirondacks.
The details vary. Some are physical passes that have to be picked up at a certain branch and returned according to a certain schedule. Mostly they are downloadable or print-out-able. (The physical option is irritating in my opinion.)
Generally they are good for free admission, though the number of people covered can vary. In a few cases it’s a discount rather than a freebie.
I’ve used these passes many times over the last few years and it’s really a wonderful program–highly recommend the NYC one if it’s anything like mine.
Your account makes it seem like the NYC program is a bit more rigorous and specific than mine, with its 2 adults/2 children guideline and available only at the start of the month. Anyway, this is a broad outline of a similar program and I hope it helps.
I’d suggest looking on the NYC library site for more info–my library’s site features lots of information about the MAP program and I would imagine that the NYC site does for the culture pass as well. Good luck!
The Toronto Public Library system has a program with similar details to the above (also called MAP). My wife looked into it and she said that there were a limited number of slots available for each given date and the popular ones (like the zoo) get booked basically instantly whenever a new batch of reservations are released (on a monthly schedule).