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It’s official: the city will reverse the $58.3 million in funding cuts to libraries that were announced back in November of last year, a move that will likely restore seven-day service across the institutions, including Sundays.

The news was first broken by Gothamist, followed by an official statement by Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

In addition to the libraries’ budget, the city will also restore funding to cultural institutions around town.

“Since day one, our administration has been laser focused on delivering for working-class New Yorkers and by working side-by-side with our partners across the hall, we are proud to announce a full restoration of funds to both our libraries and cultural institutions in the upcoming budget,” the Mayor said in an official statement. “These institutions are a critical part of New York City’s social fabric, which New Yorkers depend on for their children’s growth and the vibrancy of our city. The budget will ensure these essential institutions will have what they need to serve New Yorkers and attract visitors every day of the week.”

I In a joint statement, the public libraries noted that Sunday service will likely be restored in the “coming weeks,” offering the same hours of operation prior to the November cuts.

“The funding also allows us to continue universal six-day service, which New Yorkers have enjoyed for nearly a decade,” reads the statement.

The news has been met with lots of excitement all around: both the City Council and regular New Yorkers have been complaining about the cuts for months, mounting pressure campaigns that Mayor Adams couldn’t ignore. 

A couple of weeks ago, while New Yorkers were facing a 90-degree heat wave, critics also pointed out that forcing libraries to close on Sundays negatively impacted the health of locals as the institutions serve as much-needed cooling centers.

Clearly, there is more than one reason to keep libraries open throughout the weekends. 

* This article was originally published here

Being the best city in the world comes at a price: for the second year in a row, transportation analytics firm INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard has ranked NYC as the world’s most congested town, with drivers spending an average of four full days stuck in traffic annually. How lovely. 

To come up with its report, which you can read through in full right here, the firm looks at data collected from 947 different urban areas across 37 countries, taking into account factors like commuting trends, travel delays, costs and more.

Lest you think the survey to be a fun case study, think again: Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX, told Bloomberg that traffic congestion can function as “a barometer of economic health.” As a result, officials may want to start thinking about ways to solve the problem—especially now that the much talked about NYC congestion pricing plan, a project that was supposed to alleviate traffic all around town, has been put on hold indefinitely.

“The surge in traffic congestion in urban areas indicated a revival of economic hubbub post-COVID, but it also led to billions of dollars in lost time for drivers,” Pishue said to the outlet.

In terms of New York in specific, the study identified the busiest local road as the four-mile area on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from the Long Island Expressway to Tillary Street—a stretch of road that will only get worse in terms of traffic when the city kicks off its much-needed repair project (albeit not until 2029).

The top 10 list of most congested cities across the world is rounded out by Mexico City, London, Paris, Chicago, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Boston, Cape Town and Jakarta. Clearly, things need to change in the U.S.

How congested is New York City?

According to INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard, motorists driving through NYC last year lost about 101 hours of their time.

Downtown Manhattan in particular saw a 13% increase in area trips, with cars driving at an average speed of 11 miles per hour during peak morning hours. That’s actually an 11% drop from the same time back in 2023. 

Things are likely only going to get worse, though, given the indefinite pause on the congestion pricing plan.

Why is there so much traffic in NYC?

The survey has identified a very big problem, but why is is there so much traffic in NYC?

Clearly a hub for all industries, the city is home to a ton of businesses that employ folks from all over the state.

As Pishue’s statement indicates, a post-COVID lifestyle may have also influenced the data: some folks have moved out of the city but now work on a hybrid schedule that may require them to come in every so often.

Basically: New York is popular and people want to spend time here

* This article was originally published here

If you’re choosing to drive in NYC you better have time to waste–for the second year in a row New York City was named the most congested city in the world, with drivers spending nearly four days each year stuck in traffic.

The report was released by the INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard, which looked at data from 947 urban areas in 37 different countries to compare travel rated.

They looked at things such as delays, costs, and commuting trends to find which city is the most congested.

And, according to the numbers, New Yorkers spent a whopping 101 hours stuck in traffic in 2023. This resulted in a $9.1 billion loss for NYC with the congestion, or $1,762 per driver.

So, how slow were New Yorkers really moving?

Well, the data found the drivers reached an average of 15 mph during peak hours and 30 mph during the low point between morning and afternoon commutes.

Other US cities in the global top 10 include Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston.

Though horribly frustrating, the news doesn’t exactly surprise us.

A December 2023 study named NYC the worst city for driving in the U.S. based on a number of factors including:

• Congestion level
• Number of traffic jams & traffic jam length
• Hours lost during congestion
• Driving speeds
• Distracted driving fatalities

So if you’ve ever wondered why most NYers don’t even own a car or have a license, well…now you do.

One thing’s for sure–with how congested NYC is, we’ll stick to walking!

The full report can be found here.

The post NYC Is The Most Congested City In The World appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here