Turning the page: Library lovers and officials celebrate return of Sunday service at Grand Army Plaza branch

Elected officials and bookworms celebrated the return of Sunday service at seven library branches across the city on July 14, following an agreement between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council last month to restore $58.3 million in funding to the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens public library systems for fiscal year 2025.

In Brooklyn, Council members Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) and Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn) joined Linda Johnson, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, and visitors at Brooklyn’s Central Library branch at Grand Army Plaza to celebrate with a party.

After Mayor Adams slashed the budget for New York City’s libraries by $22.1 million in November 2023, all library branches were forced to close on Sundays. The restored funding will reverse service reductions, reinstate Sunday service at library branches, resume paused programs, open renovated branches, and increase physical and digital collections.

Hudson told Brooklyn Paper that while she was excited about the reinstatement of Sunday library services, she was also frustrated because public libraries shouldn’t have been closed on Sundays in the first place.