Mayor Adams calls library funding cuts part of ‘negotiation,’ claims ‘everyone will be happy’ with the result
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday tried to reassure critics of his cuts to the city’s public library system that he was still in the “negotiation part” of his new budget plan — insisting that “everyone will be happy” with the final result.
HIzzoner was grilled about his decision not to plug the $58 million library cuts in his new $111.6 billion spending plan during a Thursday morning appearance on PIX11.
“This is the negotiation part of it,” Adams said of the library cuts, which sever hours and reduce some outposts to operating just five days per week.
“We’re going to get to a meeting [with City Council] where we’re going to shake hands…We understand the importance of libraries in our city,” he added, noting that “everyone will be happy” with the final arrangement.
Adams came under fire Wednesday for suggesting that the libraries should tap their “substantial endowments” in order to fill the gap.
The endowments, however, come with serious restrictions and cannot be used for operating costs, critics pointed out.
The initial cuts came in November 2023, as the city grappled with the rising costs of the migrant crisis, and have become a major flashpoint between the mayor and city council.
“We are disappointed that critical support for key mental health services, programs to reduce recidivism and libraries that our city desperately need are not included in the executive budget,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and council Finance chair Justin Brannan said of the budget plan on Wednesday.
During Thursday morning’s interview, however, Adams was more interested in touting his administration’s “smart choices” that he claimed stabilized the city’s economy post-COVID and in the face of the migrant issue.
“Everything is possible in the great city of New York. Dreams come true in New York City!” he grinned when pressed on the library cuts.
