He\u2019s making a return on his promise.<\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning the page on his campaign promise to boost funding for libraries \u2014 instead pushing to slash their budgets by nearly $30 million \u2014 after calling similar cuts under his predecessor \u201ccruel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under\u00a0Mamdani\u2019s $127 billion preliminary budget plan<\/a>, the Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library would see an $11.6 million slash to funds, while Brooklyn and Queens would shrink $8.7 and $9.2 million, respectively, compared to last year.<\/p>\n Mayor Mamdani promised in December to boost all three of the city\u2019s library branches by half a percent. Andrew Schwartz \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n The cuts would impact programs for the elderly and services for those seeking to become US citizens.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a direct reversal of Mamdani\u2019s campaign promise that he would boost funding for all three of the\u00a0library branches so that they\u2019d get 0.5% of the entire city budget.\u00a0He\u00a0stood by the commitment<\/a>\u00a0after his election, at a December press conference at the Greenpoint branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be doing a dance around things that are critically important to New Yorkers. If there is something that we believe in, we will make that clear in our own preliminary, and we will be making announcements soon on our approach to the budget at large,\u201d Mamdani said to boisterous applause.<\/p>\n Hizzoner had joined the public condemnations of then-Mayor Eric Adams when he made similar sweeping cuts to the library budgets, resulting in the temporary cancellation of weekend service.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Mayor, I\u2019ll end this absurd budget dance that keeps our beloved libraries in limbo year after year,\u201d he wrote on social media in August.<\/p>\n Adams was raked over the coals, with all\u00a0three library CEOs publicly protesting the $58 million<\/a>\u00a0he proposed over the course of his one-term tenure, funding he later restored.<\/p>\n \u201cIn one breath, Mayor Adams tells NYers that such cruel budget cuts to libraries, sanitation, and parks are necessary fiscal measures,\u201d Mamdani railed in a 2023 tweet.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd in another, he offers to restore funding to some of those very cuts in exchange for shielding the NYPD from accountability. Ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n Still preserved on his campaign website is Mamdani\u2019s promise to commit 0.5% of the entire Big Apple budget to libraries to reverse Adams\u2019 \u201cdevastating\u201d impact, calling the system \u201ccritical to our city\u2019s success.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams was quick to point out the hypocrisy, questioning why he was grilled for making similar cuts.<\/p>\n \u201cWHERE IS THE \u201cSAVE THE LIBRARIES\u201d GANG?!\u201d\u00a0Adams fumed on X Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n Occupy Wall Street also pointed out Mamdani\u2019s back-peddling noting he was proposing to budget less for libraries than \u201cdisgraced & former NYC Mayor Adams.\u201d<\/p>\n