Renovation plans for the State Museum, pictured, have languished for years, but now Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a $150 million overhaul and taking away control of the Albany institution from the Education Department.

One of the museum's longstanding exhibits is its mastodon exhibit.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to spend $150 million transforming the New York State Museum.

The New York State Museum has been housed at the state Cultural Education Center on Madison Avenue in Albany, pictured, since 1976 and hasn't seen dramatic changes since then.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to spend $150 million transforming the New York State Museum and its exhibits.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to spend $150 million transforming the New York State Museum and its exhibits.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to spend $150 million transforming the New York State Museum and its exhibits.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to spend $150 million transforming the New York State Museum and its exhibits.

An exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany.

After years of official indifference and neglect, the New York State Museum is suddenly at the center of a power struggle.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, chagrined at the museum’s condition after visiting with her granddaughter, has proposed a dramatic $150 million remake. According to sources familiar with her thinking, she wants to take control of the Albany institution and strip authority from the State Education Department, the largely independent agency that oversees the museum through its Office of Cultural Education.

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The governor believes the current management setup has not worked, and she wants to establish a blue-ribbon panel of........

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