Councilman Brad Lander, Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson Visit Windsor Terrace Library, Urge City To Increase Funding For City Libraries

Councilman Brad Lander joined Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson, parents and children at the Windsor Terrace Library Monday. Photo courtesy Brooklyn Public Library.

After the city’s public libraries took a $10 million hit in the budget released by Mayor Bill de Blasio last week, Councilman Brad Lander and Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson joined parents, children and others at the Windsor Terrace Library (160 E. 5th Street) on Monday to urge the city to increase funding for the libraries.

The library systems in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens are slated to receive about $313 million in the most recent budget for the 2016 fiscal year, compared to $323 million in operating funds in 2015. The budget is not set in stone, and city lawmakers must still approve the mayor’s proposal — meaning the libraries still have a chance to receive the funding they say is crucial.

“I’m grateful for the many programs and resources Windsor Terrace Library provides to our community,” Lander said in a press release released by the Brooklyn Public Library. “It is time for the city to invest in libraries in the FY 2016 budget so that they can expand their hours and provide more of the services that millions of New Yorkers rely on. Libraries are fundamental public institutions that we have a duty to robustly — and more equally — support. The Windsor Terrace Library, including its great staff, diverse users and team of dedicated volunteers, expertly demonstrates the role libraries can play in connecting our communities.”

Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson spends time with children attending the Windsor Terrace Library’s popular story time Monday. Photo courtesy the Brooklyn Public Library.

In addition to increasing the funding for 2016, libraries have been joined by a chorus of literary fans across the city (including authors Judy Blume and Junot Diaz) asking the city to restore the $65 million that has been cut from the three systems — Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens — since 2008.

Such a restoration would translate to libraries across the city being able to offer expanded hours, operate at least six days a week and offer services that range from homework help for students to career counseling for adults, library officials have said.

Lander and Johnson, who visited the Windsor Terrace site during its popular story time for children, heaped praise on the library, congratulating it for being named one of the 10 finalists for the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards.

Councilman Brad Lander and Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson urged the city to increase funding for the city’s public libraries during their visit to the Windsor Terrace Library Monday. Photo courtesy the Brooklyn Public Library.

“No one does more to help Brooklynites find jobs, succeed in school and improve their digital literacy than the staff and volunteers at Brooklyn’s 60 libraries,” Johnson said in the same press release. “We are proud that three BPL branches have been nominated for Neighborhood Library Awards in recognition of their innovative, patron-focused programs, and we urge the City to fully fund New York’s libraries so that we can do even more to serve Brooklyn’s 2.5 million residents.”

The NYC Neighborhood Library Awards will be presented to five of the 10 finalists from the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library systems by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The award comes with a $20,000 prize, the largest cash prize awarded directly to branch libraries in the nation. To find out more about the awards, you can see our past coverage here.