New York City’s libraries are getting their money back.
Under the executive budget unveiled on Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani will add an additional $31.7 million in funding to the city’s three library systems, Queens, Brooklyn and New York, as requested by the City Council.
Library funding accounts for less than $500 million, or less than 0.5 percent, of the city’s overall $124.5 billion budget.
Mamdani’s initial proposal in February would have cut library funding amid a $5.4 billion budget deficit. The move surprised many of his supporters.
During the campaign, Mamdani praised libraries as important city resources and cultural hubs. In 2023, he joined criticism of then-Mayor Eric Adams for cutting library funding, which forced branches to close on Sundays.
“If you’re just going to say, ‘Oh, I love the library,’ but you’re not actually supporting them, then that’s a real disappointment and, frankly, bulls—,” said Abby Emerson, a member of the NYC Public Library Action Network, or NYC PLAN, when the cuts were announced.
Adams also weighed in on the proposed cuts.
“WHERE IS THE ‘SAVE THE LIBRARIES’ GANG?!” the former mayor wrote on X.
After the backlash, the mayor’s office said the proposed cuts were part of a preliminary budget that would be revised later in the budget negotiation process.
Library supporters moved quickly. NYC PLAN, made up of library patrons and staff members, held a rally for libraries in March. The group also launched an online campaign that described the mayor’s preliminary budget as “terrible” for the city’s libraries.
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