NYPL Announces Full Restoration Of Services, Sunday Openings

City Budget Fully Restores Library Funding—Sunday Service Will Return

Editor’s note: Staten Islander News recently covered the announcement by Mayor Adams of the restoration of funding to the library and other important cultural institutions.  

Great news for New York City! Public library funding was fully restored in the FY25 City budget adopted on July 1, 2024—a major victory for all New Yorkers. We are deeply grateful to City leaders—including Mayor Adams, City Council Speaker Adams, Finance Chair Brannan, Libraries Chair Rivera, and the entire City Council—for prioritizing libraries in this budget.

Thanks to the City’s full restoration of library budgets, The New York Public Library will reinstate Sunday service at those branches that previously offered it on a rolling basis beginning July 14, bringing service back to the levels provided prior to the November 2023 cuts. Below is a list of the branches that will open on July 14. This page will be updated when more branch openings are scheduled. 

The funding in the FY25 budget also allows us to continue providing universal six-day service and reverse cuts to spending on library materials, programming, and building maintenance and repairs.

Learn more about this funding restoration and its impacts.

Branches Resuming Sunday Service July 14

• Parkchester Library | Bronx
• Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) | Manhattan
• Todt Hill–Westerleigh Library  | Staten Island

Frequently Asked Questions

Which NYPL branches will be resuming Sunday service and when?

The eight locations that suspended Sunday service—Bronx Library Center, Grand Concourse, Jefferson Market, Parkchester, Stavros Niarchos Foundations Library (SNFL), Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Todt Hill–Westerleigh, Washington Heights—will be reinstated on a rolling basis, beginning July 14, 2024. Check back on this page for continued updates on when individual branches will reopen.

Will additional branches open on Sundays?

The $58.3 million of funding restored in the FY25 budget allows our libraries to return to the level of service we offered before the November 2023 cuts. This means we will only be able to offer Sunday service at the locations that previously offered it. However, all libraries will continue to offer universal six-day service, which was in jeopardy due to the proposed cuts

What other impacts from the cuts will be reversed?

With this restoration, we will be able to reverse reductions to spending on books and materials, programming, and maintenance and repairs at our branches.

Banner Image: NYPL main branch. Image Credit – Joshua Woods

Tony Marx

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