Angry New Yorkers want to throw the book at Mayor Bloomberg for proposing deep spending cuts to the city’s libraries.
The mayor’s budget plan would slash library spending by 29 percent, which critics claim would force branches to be open only three days a week.
Marie Aoun registered her protest while borrowing 24 books for her first-grade daughter, Sarah, at the busy Jackson Heights library in Queens.
“Without the library there is no place to go,” Aoun said. “She built her literary environment since she was 2 years old at the library.”
“Bloomberg is crazy. In this economy, people are looking for jobs and looking for information and can’t afford Internet access,” said library patron Ed Ermler, 50, accompanied by his 10-year-old daughter, Ania.
Elsewhere, the mayor’s recommended 19 percent cut for parks and recreational facilities has residents seeing red instead of green. The plan would close four city pools, and double fees at recreation centers and for tennis court and ballpark permits.
Even President Obama got an earful of opposition to the mayor’s proposal to eliminate 20 fire companies during his Thursday meeting with family members of 9/11 rescue workers.
Retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches personally urged Obama to intervene.
“We’re the No. 1 terrorist target in the world, and Mayor Bloomberg is looking to close 20 companies. I told the president that is a recipe for disaster,” Riches said.