Queens Public Library gets funding wish in budget
BY BILL PARRY
At the end of the annual
“budget dance” between
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
the City Council, the city’s
library systems, including
Queens Public Library, and
their customers were among
the biggest winners in town.
City Hall’s original budget
called for $16 million in
funding cuts which would
have meant reduced operating
hours, a possible elimination
of Sunday service, a hiring
freeze and fewer programs for
adult literacy, story time for
children and other projects.
Instead, City Council
battled the administration
during the drawn out
negotiations and came away
with a $33 million investment
in additional expense funding
for the city’s libraries.
“It was a total team effort,
from Speakers Corey Johnson
to our Queens delegation,
especially Cultural Affairs
& Libraries Chair Jimmy
Van Bramer, Finance
Chair Danny Dromm and
City Councilwoman Karen
Koslowitz who continues to
fight for our libraries,” Queens
Public Library President and
CEO Dennis M. Walcott said.
“People understand the value
of libraries and the City
Council made it a priority
need and they really came
through for us.”
Queens Public Library,
which consists of 65 locations
including branch libraries,
the Central Library in
Jamaica, seven adult learning
centers around the borough,
a technology lab in the
Queensbridge Houses, two
universal pre-kindergarten
centers and two teen centers
will remain operating at
full strength.
“It’s the perfect marriage
between the Queens
delegation and our libraries,”
Walcott said. “They continue
to provide the level of support
so we can continue to deliver
a high level of service to the
public and our customers.”
Van Bramer called the
$33 million in increased
funding a great victory for all
New Yorkers.
“The budget agreement is
historic in terms of not only
the increase and overall
Queens Public Library president and CEO Dennis Walcott thanks the Queens delegation to the City
Council for securing $33 million in additional expense funding for city libraries.
Courtesy of Queens Public Library
level of funding, but also
we got most of it baselined
— made permanent —
so libraries don’t risk
losing it each year. Our
communities rely on their
local libraries and this will
ensure that public libraries
can remain open, expand
services and keep up with
rising demand.”
The leaders of the three
systems, Queens Public
Library, The New York
Public Library and the
Brooklyn Public Library
applauded the City Council.
“You have collectively
ensured that public libraries
— which offer opportunity
to all and are the heart of
a fair and equitable city —
remain strong at a critical
time in our history, when
New Yorkers, especially the
most vulnerable, need them
the most,” they said in a
joint statement.
Dromm said he was
proud to have helped secure
the $33 million in additional
expense funding.
“They are the backbone
of our neighborhoods,”
Dromm said. “This
additional funding will help
city libraries continue to
serve New Yorkers for years
to come.”
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