Citywide Cuts to Library Budget Means No More Sunday Service for Greenpoint Branch

Few institutions are more critical to sustaining a vibrant community than our local libraries. Not just a place to check out books, their robust programming benefits locals from all walks of life — toddlers listening to story time, immigrants taking English classes, and crafters looking to improve their skills, to name a few.

Unfortunately, mid-year budget cuts from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration mean that Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, and The New York Public Library will no longer be able to offer seven-day service.

“​​Without sufficient funding, we cannot sustain our current levels of service, and any further cuts to the Libraries’ budgets will, unfortunately, result in deeper service impacts,” according to a recent statement from the library systems. “We know how much New Yorkers rely on the vital resources we provide, and we remain committed to meeting their needs as best as we can.” The budget cuts will reduce spending for library materials, programming, and building maintenance and repairs.

Aside from cuts to the library, the Adams administration has slashed the budget of each city agency by 5%, which he claims is a necessary evil to shore up the cost of the ongoing migrant crisis. Several elected officials, including North Brooklyn’s city council member Lincoln Restler, have pushed back against that narrative.

“Revenue is up, reserves are steady, & Mayor keeps making deeply harmful cuts,” he tweeted earlier this month.

Many of Restler’s city council colleagues concur, as indicated by a recent joint statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams and Finance Chair Justin Brannan, in which they claim the budget gaps existed before the migrant crisis.

“The Administration’s approach of reducing budgets of all agencies broadly through additional cuts and a hiring freeze, along with inflicting cuts on our libraries, CUNY, and cultural institutions, is too blunt and not the prudent or sole choice,” the statement read in part.

The last day for Sunday service across most libraries will be December 17. Considering our next closest local branch, the Leonard Library, is closed for long-last renovations, North Brooklynites with a love of literacy again find ourselves without a vital resource. The other Brooklyn branches no longer offering Sunday service include Borough Park, Brooklyn Heights, Central, Kings Highway, Macon, Midwood, and New Lots, on top of the Brooklyn branches that already did not open on Sundays.