Midtown Public Library Protest Graffiti Repairs Cost $75K: Report

MIDTOWN, NY — Damage to the New York Public Library’s famous Stephen A. Schwarzman building caused by protesters might fetch a hefty $75,000 repair bill, according to a report from Gothamist.

The pricy damage, caused by demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza, comes at a time when libraries are facing major cuts from a mid-year budget modification.

While at least three separate protests have caused damage to the landmark Midtown building, a demonstration on Thanksgiving day, when vandals spray painted “Free Palestine” on the building and used red paint to make hand prints will have the heaviest cleanup cost, officials told Gothamist.

Garrett Bergen, director of facilities for the library, told the news site that graffiti targeted parts of marble where the names of donors were engraved, with crevices that could easily erode from the powerful solvents needed to remove the dark green paint.

“We could have to replace certain elements if a rosette is too damaged for the paint to be removed. So it’s a little unclear,” Bergen told Gothamist.

The costly repairs were announced not even two weeks after Mayor Adams announced a $23.6 million cut in city funding for public libraries, which at minimum will force the institutions to shutter on Sundays, as part of his plan to reduce $1 billion in spending over the next two fiscal years.