In a surprising turn of events, Mayor Mamdani’s preliminary budget plan includes a $30 million reduction for city libraries, despite his campaign promise to allocate up to 0.5% of the city’s budget to them. This decision echoes the actions of former Mayor Eric Adams, who also initially proposed cuts before restoring full funding after negotiations with the City Council.
Unlike Adams’ temporary restoration, the current proposal does not secure permanent financial support for libraries, potentially leaving these vital institutions across the five boroughs facing financial difficulties. This budget proposal is yet another example of the new administration backtracking on campaign commitments, a notable point given that Mamdani’s tenure is only six weeks underway.
In another reversal, Mamdani recently announced the resumption of sweeps on homeless encampments, a move that met with public outcry after 19 people died during a harsh city cold snap. This decision goes against his earlier pledge to end such practices.
While the mayor has often highlighted the importance of libraries to the city’s overall success, he attributes any financial shortcomings to mismanagement by the previous administration. Nonetheless, these early policy shifts have raised concerns about the consistency of Mamdani’s commitment to his campaign promises.
Just Wednesday, Mamdani announced he would resume sweeps of homeless encampments amid backlash over the deaths of 19 people during a recent city cold snap. He had earlier vowed to end that practice.
The new mayor has called libraries “critical” to the city’s success. Meanwhile, Mamdani has blamed the previous administration for any budget shortfalls.
About $2 million of the expected cut has been restored, but leaders of the city’s three library systems say it doesn’t come close to what they need.
“We are pleased to see that the mayor took a step forward and restored $2 million in funding for libraries in the city’s preliminary budget,” representatives from the Brooklyn, Queens and New York public libraries said in a joint statement.
“We look forward to working with the administration and city council to ensure that the FY27 budget fully funds the city’s libraries so that we can maintain vital services while also supporting enhanced Sunday hours. We are also highly encouraged by the mayor’s pledge to dedicate 0.5% of the city’s budget to libraries.”
Mamdani stressed the importance of city libraries during a December press conference, weeks before taking over.
“We’re not going to be doing a dance around things that are critically important to New Yorkers,” he said. “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.”
When pressed by reporters on the 0.5% commitment, Mamdani said, “Yes.”
