Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning the page on a plan that would have cut funding to New York City libraries.<\/p>\n
Under the executive budget unveiled on Tuesday<\/a>, Mamdani will add an additional $31.7 million in funding to the three library systems \u2014 Queens, Brooklyn and New York \u2014 as requested by the City Council. Library funding accounts for less than $500 million, or less than .5%, of the city\u2019s overall $124.5 billion budget.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s initial proposal in February to slash library funding<\/a> amid a $5.4 billion budget deficit surprised many of his supporters. During the campaign, Mamdani praised libraries as important city resources and cultural hubs. In 2023, Mamdani joined the criticism of then-Mayor Eric Adams for cutting library funding, which forced branches to close on Sundays.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re just going to say, \u2018Oh, I love the library,\u2019 but you\u2019re not actually supporting them, then that\u2019s a real disappointment and, frankly, bulls—,\u201d said Abby Emerson, a member of the NYC Public Library Action Network, or NYC PLAN, when the cuts were announced.<\/p>\n Adams also sought to fan flames over the budget cuts. \u201cWHERE IS THE ‘SAVE THE LIBRARIES’ GANG?!\u201d the former mayor wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response to the criticism, the mayor\u2019s office stressed that the proposed cuts were part of a preliminary budget that would be revised at later stages of the budget negotiation process.<\/p>\n