After touting the importance of libraries as a candidate, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is following in the footsteps of his predecessor by proposing budget cuts that could force service reductions at branches around New York City.
Mamdani’s preliminary budget proposal, which he introduced earlier this week, includes a $29 million cut to the city’s three major library systems. The proposal represents a reversal of one of his campaign promises and is another example of how the new mayor is backtracking on policy commitments as he faces financial and political pressure. The mayor on Wednesday announced he would resume homeless encampment sweeps, despite his earlier pledges to end the practice.
Mamdani has praised libraries both on the campaign trail and as mayor, calling them “critical” to the city’s success. He prompted a surge in e-book downloads at the public libraries last month, when he urged New Yorkers to stay home during the snowstorm and read the bestseller “Heated Rivalry.” While testifying in Albany last week, Mamdani vowed the city would not resort to a “politics of austerity.”
“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.
Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement that "the budget crisis we inherited compels us to take an all-of-government approach and use every tool at our disposal to meet the legal mandate to balance the budget, including achieving efficiencies and cutting waste."
Pekec pointed out that the preliminary budget marked the beginning of a months-long budget process.
