{"id":2876,"date":"2025-05-21T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/?p=2876"},"modified":"2025-05-21T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:20:14","slug":"nyc-council-identifies-expense-and-capital-funding-gaps-for-libraries-and-cultural-organizations-in-mayors-fy26-executive-budget-ahead-of-wednesday-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2025\/05\/21\/2876\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Council Identifies Expense and Capital Funding Gaps for Libraries and Cultural Organizations in Mayor\u2019s FY26 Executive Budget ahead of Wednesday Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Hall, NY<\/strong> \u2013 Ahead of the City Council\u2019s Executive Budget hearing jointly held by the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations and the Committee on Finance<\/a> on Wednesday at 10 AM, the Council identified budget gaps for the funding programs managed by the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and the City\u2019s support for the operations and staffing of New York\u2019s three public library systems within the Mayor\u2019s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Executive Budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Executive Budget includes $215.1 million for DCLA, $50.7 million more than the Preliminary Budget but $38.8 million less than the adopted FY 2025 budget. It includes $496.8 million for the three library systems, $16.4 million more than the Preliminary Budget and $7.9 million more than the adopted FY 2025 budget. However, the latest Capital Plan fails to include any funding for the library systems\u2019 unmet capital funding needs, limiting their ability to address the maintenance and infrastructure challenges of local library branches.<\/p>\n

The following funding requests were outlined in the Council\u2019s Preliminary Budget Response<\/a> and left out of the Mayor\u2019s FY 2026 Executive Budget:<\/a><\/p>\n

Cultural Institution Groups (CIGs) and Cultural Development Fund (CDF)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Arts and culture organizations are fundamental pillars of New York City neighborhoods and vital to our economy. The City\u2019s world-renowned institutions make us the cultural capital of the world and provide enriching opportunities for all New Yorkers. To account for the needs of the City\u2019s cultural institutions and recent attacks on their federal funding<\/a>, the Council proposed the Administration support the City\u2019s cultural organizations by restoring and baselining the $45 million provided in FY 2025 for Cultural Development Fund (CDF) organizations and the members of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), and provide a $30 million enhancement baselined starting in FY 2026. This funding would assist the CIG institutions in paying staff salaries, providing accessible public programs, and for security and maintenance of city-owned buildings. This funding would also help thousands of creative nonprofits who rely on CDF funding to keep their doors open and provide services citywide. The Executive Budget included the baselined $45 million allocation, but did not include any additional funding to account for federal budget cuts organizations are currently experiencing.<\/p>\n

Library Funding and 7-Day Service Expansion<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The City\u2019s libraries are an essential presence in neighborhoods and provide a wide range of indispensable services for New Yorkers of every age. In recent years, the library systems have seen increased costs for programming and circulations, as well as a rise in the cost of materials, staff, and general operations. The Council proposed the Administration allocate an additional $62.5 million in baselined funding for the City\u2019s three library systems starting in FY 2026. The funding would provide $44.8 million for the library systems\u2019 unmet expense needs for FY 2026, baseline the Council\u2019s longtime support of $15.7 million for the library systems, and allocate $2 million to expand 7-day library service to 10 additional branches citywide. The Executive Budget only included additional one-time funding of $15.7 million in FY 2026, leaving a gap of $46.8 million.<\/p>\n

Library Maintenance and Infrastructure<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The City\u2019s three library systems have a combined unfunded capital need of $345 million in FY 2026, which includes urgent infrastructure improvement projects for roofs, HVAC systems, fire safety, and accessibility upgrades. In addition, this funding would cover the replacement of critical systemwide infrastructure and initiate cost-effective, comprehensive branch overhauls, rather than piecemeal maintenance projects. This needed funding includes approximately $40.3 million for the Brooklyn Public Library, $42.3 million for the Queens Public Library, and $262.5 million for the New York Public and Research Libraries. These funds would allow the systems to be strategic and responsible stewards of their capital assets so New Yorkers can engage with the systems\u2019 offerings in the safe, modern, and inspiring spaces they deserve. The Executive Capital Plan did not include any funding in response to these currently unmet capital needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York\u2019s cultural institutions, arts organizations, and public libraries are foundational to our city\u2019s identity and potential,\u201d said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations<\/strong>. \u201cThey drive our economy, shape who we are, and offer space for learning, creativity, and connection in every borough. From art workers energizing neighborhoods, to libraries welcoming students, immigrants, and older adults with free programs, these institutions anchor communities and expand opportunity. In a time of historic economic uncertainty and shifting national priorities, we must meet the moment by investing in the people and places that sustain our cultural life. I remain deeply committed to securing the funding our cultural sector and public library system needs to thrive now and for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

###<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City Hall, NY<\/strong> \u2013 Ahead of the City Council\u2019s Executive Budget hearing jointly held by the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations and the Committee on Finance<\/a> on Wednesday at 10 AM, the Council identified budget gaps for the funding programs managed by the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) and the City\u2019s support for the operations and staffing of New York\u2019s three public library systems within the Mayor\u2019s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Executive Budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/273"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}