PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tom Gogan, Representative of Move the Money-NYC, on Library Funding and Militarism
1:21:23
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166 sec
Tom Gogan, representing himself and the Move the Money-NYC coalition, testified about library funding and the impact of militarism on city budgets. He expressed gratitude for efforts to restore library funding but emphasized the need for more support, especially in underserved communities.
- Highlighted the importance of libraries and the recent funding restorations
- Discussed the concept of banning books and ideas, relating it to the lack of discussion on militarism's impact on budgets
- Mentioned that Move the Money-NYC has collected over 3,000 signatures from New Yorkers concerned about the allocation of funds to militarism instead of local needs
Tom Gogan
1:21:23
Morning chair, Rivera.
1:21:25
And any other council members who are currently present.
1:21:30
I'm Tom Gogan.
1:21:31
I am representing myself as well as the move the money in New York City coalition.
1:21:37
First speaking for myself, I am a regular user of both the Brooklyn Public Library, my own neighborhood, which is over in Park Slope, not not a typically underserved neighborhood for sure.
1:21:51
But, nonetheless, we've experienced the very same cuts that the rest of the city experienced, and I wanna express my pleasure at and thanks to the city council and to you chair Rivera for your own efforts and for all your colleagues who fought hard to restore, you know, as much funding as you were able to claw back this year.
1:22:15
Unfortunately, We still have a long way to go in terms of proper funding for both the library system and the many other services that our city is lacking, especially in communities that are so hard hit.
1:22:31
Our immigrant, our working class, our brown, black communities.
1:22:36
I also represent the move of the money in New York City coalition, and I wanna talk about something that was touched on today, and it's very important, and that's the subject of banning books and the relationship to civic engagement as well as the notion of banning ideas because book banning and banning ideas are really on the same spectrum somewhere.
1:23:00
And we are living in a society which currently seems to have banned one topic.
1:23:08
You could say that I'm part of a a marginalized group in a sense.
1:23:13
Not in the usual senses of identity, but in the sense of there are a lot there are many of us out there.
1:23:20
In fact, our group moved money has collected well over 3000 signatures over the last couple of years from our fellow New Yorkers who want to talk about the role of militarism in our society and the fact that it so much of our budget is distorted by the fact that our city contributes literally tens of 1,000,000,000 of dollars every year of the federal government and our taxes that don't get back to us in the form of help for our libraries, to help all the wonderful programs our libraries are doing.
1:23:52
And, of course, all the many other programs that we need and want in this city.
1:23:59
And, again, Jerry Rivera would do wanna thank you for your efforts in in that respect as well.
1:24:05
I guess my time is up.
1:24:07
I could go on and on.
1:24:08
Thank you.
Carlina Rivera
1:24:08
Thank you.
