QUESTION
What specific funding amount would make New York City's libraries whole after their budget cuts?
0:50:01
·
140 sec
The council member asks for a specific dollar amount, not an aspirational figure, that would cover the losses incurred by New York City's libraries due to budget cuts. The library presidents provide the following amounts:
- Brooklyn Public Library needs an additional $5 million over and above full restoration
- Queens Public Library needs an additional $5.1 million
- New York Public Library needs an additional $9 million
However, the New York Public Library president emphasizes that simply restoring the funds is not enough - the funding needs to be baselined going forward to allow for proper planning, hiring and investment.
Justin Brannan
0:50:01
Is there a number that's not an aspirational number, but a number that you feel would make you whole in terms of what you've lost.
Tony Marx
0:50:12
We need though that the number that we have lost restored.
0:50:16
We need it bet we need the city council's amazing efforts and support for us continued We need to make sure that the money that we saw restored but that was not baselined is baselined.
0:50:32
So that we don't keep coming back to 0 or negative numbers, in which case we cannot deliver what you need us.
0:50:40
Deliver?
Linda Johnson
0:50:40
I think if I interpret your question
Dennis Walcott
0:50:43
Mhmm.
Linda Johnson
0:50:44
Properly, you're asking what we need over and above a full restoration Right.
0:50:48
Order to in order to be whole.
0:50:51
And I hesitate to throw a number out there, but I would be more than happy by the end of the day to provide something to you that I think would be.
0:51:02
And I and I'm not even you know, I don't want you to think that I'm being greedy here, but we could put very solid numbers together that would allow us to operate without the constant stress of being underfunded.
Justin Brannan
0:51:17
That would be helpful.
0:51:18
I mean, the council has maintained that there's enough money here to get us back to 0 and then some.
0:51:26
So I think it's important that we know.
Linda Johnson
0:51:28
The then some will be forthcoming.
Dennis Walcott
0:51:30
Thank you.
0:51:30
Got it.
0:51:31
We encourage the then some because We a reality.
Justin Brannan
0:51:34
As far as
Linda Johnson
0:51:34
My team is saying that they think we need an additional 5,000,000 over and above full restoration.
Dennis Walcott
0:51:41
And we've analyzed it as well, and ours is 5 1,000,000.
Tony Marx
0:51:45
Ours is 9,000,000, but but again, I just wanna reiterate, if this isn't baselined, Right?
0:51:52
The city council should be talking to the administration to say it's not enough to restore these monies, to bring this dance to what would be then seen as a successful conclusion.
0:52:03
That is not a successful conclusion because we can't plan.
0:52:08
We can't hire.
0:52:09
We can't continue to invest unless we have the certainty of baselining going forward.
0:52:16
In addition, to the additional costs that we face $9,000,000 in the case of New York public.
