Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder speaks out against possible cuts and closures to libraries in Queens at a rally in front of the Peninsula branch of the Queens library in Far Rockaway on Thursday, May 17th. Forum Newsgroup photo by Luis Gronda.
In what is sure to be one of many protests for Queens Libraries, Rockaway residents were clear about their message on Thursday afternoon: Keep our libraries open.
Several residents, local elected officials and library patrons marched on the boardwalk along Rockaway Beach on Thursday, May 17 in protest of possible Queens Library service cuts and closures all throughout the borough.
In his executive budget released earlier this month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing a $26.7 million cut to Queens Libraries, which would be a 31 percent reduction compared to last year’s budget.
According to Queens Library, that cut would devastate libraries all over Queens. It would shut down 18 libraries for good, 30 libraries would only be open four or five days a week and all libraries would be closed on Sundays. Six hundred jobs would be cut from the libraries, if this budget were to go through.
Rockaway residents and library patrons got their chance to speak out on the potential cuts and closures.
“No more cuts!” the group chanted as they gathered in front of the Peninsula branch of the Queens public library on Rockaway Beach Boulevard.
Sadie Nadal, a Rockaway resident who uses libraries like the one the group gathered in front of, pleaded her case for why the libraries should not be cut.
“People need to study and do homework quietly,” Nadal said. “Save our libraries because we really need it.”
“When you work or volunteer at a library, you realize how it affects people,” said Matt Allison, manager of the Peninsula library who also served as the master of ceremonies for the protest. “Maybe not everyone in the community uses a library, but the people that do, it changes their lives significantly.”
A few local elected officials also spoke in support of the libraries.
“The message today is very, very simple: New York City, don’t balance the budget on the backs of our kids,” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Far Rockaway).
“The libraries are our lifeline and when there’s nowhere else to go, we come to the library.”
Donovan Richards, who is Councilman James Sanders’ chief of staff and represented him at the rally, had a message for Mayor Bloomberg: “Why don’t you cut those billionaire friends of yours so these kids can continue to enjoy their library,” Richards said.
The protest, which was named “Boardwalk for Books,” started at two other library locations in the Rockaways.
Two separate groups gathered, one at the Seaside branch, also on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, and the other at the Arverne branch on Beach 54th Street. From there, the two groups marched on the boardwalk along Rockaway Beach until they reached their destination at the Peninsula library.
A petition was available at the protest for people to sign. Allison said that they got about 10,000 signatures when they protested library cuts last year.
There will also be a rally to protest library cuts at City Hall on May 31.
By Luis Gronda
