He’s making a return on his promise.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning the page on his campaign promise to boost funding for libraries — instead pushing to slash their budgets by nearly $30 million — after calling similar cuts under his predecessor “cruel.”
Under Mamdani’s $127 billion preliminary budget plan, the Manhattan branch of the New York Public Library would see an $11.6 million slash to funds, while Brooklyn and Queens would shrink $8.7 and $9.2 million, respectively, compared to last year.
The cuts would impact programs for the elderly and services for those looking to become citizens.
It’s a direct reversal of Mamdani’s campaign promise that he would boost funding for all three of the city’s library branches by half a percent. He stood by the commitment after his election, at a December press conference at the Greenpoint branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.
“We’re not going to be doing a dance around things that are critically important to New Yorkers. 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,” Mamdani said to boisterous applause.
Hizzoner had joined the public condemnations of then-Mayor Eric Adams when he made similar sweeping cuts to the library budgets, resulting in the temporary cancellation of weekend service.
Adams was raked over the coals, with all three library CEOs publicly protesting the $58 million he proposed over the course of his one-term tenure, funding he later restored.
“In one breath, Mayor Adams tells NYers that such cruel budget cuts to libraries, sanitation, and parks are necessary fiscal measures,” Mamdani railed in a 2023 tweet.
“And in another, he offers to restore funding to some of those very cuts in exchange for shielding the NYPD from accountability. Ridiculous.”
Still preserved on his campaign website is Mamdani’s promise to commit 0.5% of the entire Big Apple budget to libraries to reverse Adams’ “devastating” impact, calling the system “critical to our city’s success.”
Adams was quick to point out the hypocrisy, questioning why he was grilled for making similar cuts.
“WHERE IS THE “SAVE THE LIBRARIES” GANG?!” Adams fumed on X Friday.
Occupy Wall Street also pointed out Mamdani’s back-peddling noting he was proposing to budget less for libraries than “disgraced & former NYC Mayor Adams.”
“Get active to make sure our libraries receive 0.5% of the city’s expense budget, as he promised during the campaign and reaffirmed after his election,” the group wrote.
Mamdani’s spending proposal for fiscal year 2027 leaves $2 million for libraries to open on Sunday that Adams had included in his budget for the previous year, said a spokesperson for the book-lenders.
But the three public library systems stopped short of slamming Mamdani’s cuts, and instead softly encouraged him to make good on his promises.
“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,” spokespeople from the Brooklyn, Queens and New York systems said in a joint statement.
Paul Martinka for NY Post
“We are also highly encouraged by the Mayor’s pledge to dedicate 0.5% of the city’s budget to libraries.”
Mamdani’s team defended the flip flop, again blaming the Adams administration.
“Libraries and city parks are the jewels of our city and embody the promise of public spaces,” Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said in a statement.
“But 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.”