More NYC libraries would open 7 days a week in Council speaker's budget proposal

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is pitching a new budget priority that could resonate with New York City voters: funding libraries.

In a preview shared with Gothamist, Adams will announce a $2 million proposal Tuesday to expand seven-day service to 10 additional library branches citywide.

Currently, only 21 libraries out of more than 200 branches are open seven days a week.

The speaker is set to announce the plan during her State of the City address, which will likely draw heightened attention this year amid talk of her mayoral candidacy. Last week, she formed a campaign committee, taking the first step toward a formal run for mayor.

While the funding proposal is relatively modest, it revisits some of the politically unpopular budget cuts Mayor Eric Adams made during the previous cycle. The mayor’s current $115 billion budget proposal seeks to keep current library service the same, without any cuts or new allocations. The City Council and mayor must reach a final budget deal before July 1.

In a statement to Gothamist, the speaker called the city’s library systems “essential to our city.” She said she looked “forward to working with our city’s library systems” to expand seven-day service.

Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson, the New York Public Library President and CEO Anthony Marx and Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott issued a joint statement praising the speaker as a “tireless advocate for public libraries” and someone who has “safeguarded New Yorkers’ access to free knowledge, learning and opportunity for all.”

“As outlined in her State of the City, the Speaker’s vision for the future of public libraries will undoubtedly further strengthen our services and resources, and we look forward to working with her to bring it to life,” they said.

Libraries have been a policy priority for the speaker. Last year, she outlined a plan to incorporate libraries into new housing developments.

The city’s more than 200 library branches receive roughly $500 million in annual funding, mostly through city tax dollars. But mayors typically threaten to withhold funding from libraries at the start of the budget process, leading to protracted negotiations with the Council that amount to an annual budget dance.

Last year, the mayor reversed $58 million in library cuts made during the height of the costly migrant crisis after facing significant backlash. The Council had argued such cuts, which were part of a series of broadly unpopular belt-tightening measures, were never necessary. Library attendance has steadily risen over the last three years, according to the city’s own data. The branches run by the New York Public Library system, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, drew around 8 million visitors in 2024, up 10% from the previous year.

As part of the deal, the mayor agreed to guarantee a minimum in annual funding for the libraries in future years, a move that would presumably end the budget dance over libraries.

Mayor Adams’ messaging on his own budget proposal has focused on housing and other programs that he said will make the city more affordable for families.

“Libraries create spaces that inspire learning, spark curiosity, and foster lifelong connections among New Yorkers of all ages, which is why we invest nearly $481 million annually for the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens public libraries," mayoral spokesperson Amaris Cockfield said in a statement when asked to comment on the speaker’s plan. "We will review the Speaker's proposal when she releases it.”