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After months of reduced library funding and fears that more would be on the way, New York City’s public libraries are getting their funding restored, in a deal announced Thursday night by Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Mayor Adams forced the spending cuts back in September, claiming the city couldn’t have nice things because of the cost of providing emergency shelter to migrants being bused to the city from Texas and other red states.
As Gothamist reports, the plan, which the City Council is expected to pass this weekend to beat a Monday deadline, will reverse $58 million in cuts to the libraries, which had to close on Sundays and cut back other operations even as they were considered a bulwark against people melting to death in the heat. Even better, the agreement will protect near-term library funding as well:
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 change represents a significant concession from the mayor, who has seen historically low approval ratings tied in part to budget cuts. The decision to guarantee a portion of the library budget could help spare libraries from the annual budget dance because they have traditionally been used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
On top of restoring the library funding, another $53 million in funding will be restored to “cultural institutions through the Cultural Institutions Group and Cultural Development Fund recipients,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The library cuts had become a political liability for Adams, a walking political liability all on his own. His poll numbers fell as library supporters, members of the City Council, and library leaders — a population you should never ever piss off, honestly — mounted a high profile campaign against the cuts:
[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 bookish professional nerds even deployed memes, in the way you’d expect bookish professional nerds to meme.
Non ALL CAPS version:
So basically public libraries are just 0.4% of the New York City budget, but the mayor is trying to cut the library’s budget way back. I’m talking $58.3 million! Libraries are already closed on Sundays because of previous cuts and most branches will be open for just five days a week if these cuts go through!! We only have until the end of June to tell @NYCMAYOR #NoCutsToLibraries and save the library.
In his statement, which glossed over why library funds were being “restored,” Mayor Adams said,
These institutions are a critical part of New York City’s social fabric, which New Yorkers depend on for their children’s growth and the vibrancy of our city. The budget will ensure these essential institutions will have what they need to serve New Yorkers and attract visitors every day of the week.
Politico reports that the library funding only came together fairly late in the negotiations on the overall budget deal, during which Adams insisted the libraries shouldn’t ask the city for more funding, but instead use their own endowments, an argument the mayor had made since the cuts back in September.
But as Gothamist notes, that wasn’t really an option, because
endowments are often earmarked for specific programs and capital improvements, deeming them off limits for general funding. Library officials have also repeatedly maintained that the city is legally obligated to help pay for library operating costs.
Still, the crisis has been averted, the libraries will open on Sundays again and they’ll restore programs and materials they’d had to put off, and it’s a good summer for literate folks in the City. After this week, that’s pretty welcome news!
[Gothamist / Politico / Photo: ‘Brecht Bug,’ Creative Commons License 2.0]
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