The Muppets may have taken Manhattan, but they’re getting a spiffy new home in Queens.
The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria is creating a gallery for Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Bert and Ernie of “Sesame Street” fame, as well as for the stars of “Fraggle Rock.”
About 400 items — including original puppets and costumes — were donated by the estate of Muppet creator Jim Henson and his wife, Jane Henson, who died last month.
Daughter Cheryl Henson said her mom “loved the Muppet characters as though they were part of her own family. It was her dream to have these dear friends find a good home where they could be seen and enjoyed, and where new audiences could learn about the many facets of my father’s work.”
The city is chipping in $2.75 million toward the $5 million cost of a project it sees as furthering its goal of persuading more tourists to venture beyond Manhattan.“The only major item that I know will not be represented is the Muppet that they made of me,” Mayor Bloomberg joked at the news conference, where he bantered with Miss Piggy.A puppeteer, screenwriter and producer, Henson introduced a raft of beloved and familiar characters during a career that spanned from the 1950s until his death in 1990, at 53.