JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) – The Jersey City Museum, one of New Jersey’s most valued art institutions, may be permanently closing its doors.

The museum is facing steep cuts in city and state funding and a lack of donations, as well as debt still owed on prior renovations.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Monday that the museum is behind on mortgage payments on nearly $3 million it still owes for a multimillion dollar, decade-old renovation.

Deep cuts in state and city funding, as well as previous cost-saving attempts such as cutbacks in staff and public museum hours, and an anticipated partnership with Jersey City University that never materialized mean the museum may never reopen.

Board Chairman Benjamin Dineen III did not return a phone message left by The Associated Press seeking comment. E-mail messages sent by the AP to several staffers listed on the museum’s staff directory also were not returned.

Board member Ofelia Garcia told the Star-Ledger in an email; “These are hard times for the museum,” and that a working group from the museum’s board would be planning programs in line with its reduced budget.

The museum’s 10,000 pieces are secured and professionally cared for, Garcia told the newspaper, despite the institution’s uncertainty.

An offsite exhibition of works by African-American artists from the museum’s permanent collection will be on display at the Hudson County Courthouse in commemoration of Black History Month, Garcia said.

City funds, which accounted for nearly half of the museum’s $1.3 million revenue in 2009, were scaled back and then eliminated altogether this year, the newspaper said. Federal tax returns showed the $625,000 in annual funding given by Jersey City to the museum between 2007 and 2009 still left the institution with a $243,000 budget gap by the end of 2009, the paper said.

Money from a state grant has yet to be released because of several restrictions. Among them: a proposed memorandum of understanding with Jersey City University that was never realized due to lack of funds.

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