NYC libraries to get budget funding back — and reopen on Sundays!

After months of public outcry and pressure from the City Council, New York City’s libraries are poised to have their budgets fully restored so that branches may resume seven-day-a-week service, including Sundays, according to three people with knowledge of the budget negotiations.

Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council are set to announce a handshake budget deal on Friday that reverses $58 million in library cuts, the sources said.

As part of the 11th hour negotiations, the Adams administration also agreed to provide $43 million annually for the libraries in future years, according to the sources. 

The cuts to the more than 200 library branches had become a political thorn in the mayor’s side. In the weeks leading up to the budget agreement, Council members and library leaders mounted an aggressive pressure campaign: they organized rallies and enlisted support from high-profile individuals, including Hillary Clinton and Whoopi Goldberg. A heatwave that lasted through the weekend further spotlighted the Sunday closures of libraries, which serve as cooling centers.

The overall budget fight became a protracted battle between the mayor and Council, with Adams citing the multi-billion dollar costs to care for migrants as a reason for belt-tightening. But amid better than expected revenues and cost savings, he walked back some of the cuts to public safety, parks and schools.

The mayor was more reluctant to restore cuts to libraries, agreeing only to grant them a reprieve from a planned cut this fiscal year. You can read more here. 

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