Senator Serrano Announces $50,000 in Funding for Libraries in the 29th Senate District

New York, N.Y. – Senator José M. Serrano today announced $50,000 in funding for libraries in the 29th Senate District. The funding was secured during this year’s state budget and will support library programming in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Roosevelt Island. Senator Serrano made the announcement alongside Managers from the New York Public Library (NYPL) at the Aguilar Branch in East Harlem.

"Libraries are critical to the wellbeing of our neighborhoods and provide New Yorkers with lifelong opportunities for learning and growing,” said Senator Serrano. “More than a place for books, libraries are often cornerstones of our communities and play a critical role in fostering reading skills, assisting in job-searching and professional development, helping English language learners, and closing the digital divide for those who don’t have access to a computer. The New York Public Library branches in my district have done a wonderful job of providing much-needed services and programming for children and adults, and I am proud to support them with this programmatic funding.”

"The New York Public Library is grateful to Senator Serrano for his generous support of his neighborhood branches," said Anthony Marx, President of The New York Public Library. "New York City's libraries are valued and trusted spaces that provide vital resources and services to all New Yorkers and on behalf of our patrons we thank him for this wonderful recognition."

The recipients of the funding in the Bronx are the NYPL High Bridge Branch, Mott Haven Branch, and Sedgwick Branch. In Manhattan, recipients include the NYPL 96th Street Branch, Aguilar Branch, and St. Agnes Branch, as well as the Roosevelt Island Branch.

Branch Managers at the presentation included Ashley Gonzalez from Aguilar Library, Deborah Allman from High Bridge Library, Jeanine Thomas from Mott Haven Library, Carlos Chavez from the Roosevelt Island Library, Samuel Ansah from Sedgwick Library, and Jennifer Ann Zarr from St. Agnes Library.