by Michelle Mullen

Despite a fervent campaign promise to boost funding to .5 percent of the city’s total budget, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $127 billion preliminary spending plan includes significant cuts to the city’s libraries.

Instead, the budget allocates $465 million, or .39 percent of the budget — down from the .45 percent allocated by former mayor Eric Adams for fiscal year 2026. In April, the city council will respond to the proposal, beginning weeks of negotiations that will determine whether funding for library systems is restored or reduced when the budget is finalized July 1.

In 2025, Adams proposed slashing the library budget by more than $8 million, a modest decline compared to the more than $50 million in cuts he proposed the year prior. Those plans prompted intense outcry from advocates and elected officials, including Council member Eric Dinowitz.

“We fought tooth and nail in the council to ensure that our libraries were funded,” Dinowitz, a former special education teacher and chair of the council’s education committee, said.

As a result, Adams ultimately restored the funding. The city council also negotiated a $17 million investment to bring back seven-day service to 10 branches after the service was eliminated across all libraries in 2023. Today, roughly 30 branches across the five boroughs have regained seven-day service.

In September, the Kingsbridge Library, chosen in part because of its high usage, was one of a handful of Bronx branches to add Sunday hours. Last year, the city reported more than 90,000 visitors walking through its doors.

Mamdani’s proposal for fiscal year 2027 maintains a $2 million allotment to expand seven-day service to additional locations, but it remains unclear whether that funding will be enough for branches to maintain those hours.

“I’m not going to let them shut down Sunday service in my district,” Dinowitz said. For students like sixth-grader Ava Alvarez, who can often be found at the Kingsbridge Library doing schoolwork alongside her father, Lloyd Alvarez, losing Sunday hours — currently 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — would be a significant blow.

“Her being able to lock in for an extended period of time without distractions is a powerful tool,” Lloyd Alvarez said. “When we’re at home, there are a lot of distractions. So having a place like the library makes a huge difference in terms of the work she’s able to do.”

The Alvarezes also visit branches across the city, some of which offer services not available at others.

“We would go to a different library sometimes and it was bigger and had private study rooms,” Ava Alvarez said. “You see kids going in there. Sometimes they hang out, read, do homework or school projects. If you don’t want to pay for afterschool, you can come to the library and even get a tutor. I just feel like that’s really convenient.”

Libraries offer a range of essential programs designed for young people.For children ages 6 through 12, the New York Public Library — one of the city’s three library systems — offers After School every Monday through Thursday, a free program that provides drop-in homework help and enrichment activities. Attendance reached nearly 50,000 in 2025, according to NYPL, a 30 percent increase from the year before.

When it comes to teens, many branches offer dedicated programming in which students can join programs like “Lofi and Chill,” where they can relax, listen to music, paint or do puzzles. Select locations, like the Kingsbridge and Van Cortlandt Libraries, offer specialized centers in which teens can learn to use 3-D printers, take free coding classes or participate in college and career preparation programs.

It’s opportunities like these Lloyd Alvarez worries could be lost in the battle over funding. He said he was surprised by Mamdani’s proposal to cut library spending.

“Honestly, it is surprising to hear that he would make that cut,” he said. “It’s not in line with what I took from the campaign and the narratives I heard from him.”

Keywords

NYC library funding cuts,

Zohran Mamdani budget proposal,

New York City preliminary budget 2027,

NYC public library funding debate,

Kingsbridge Library Bronx