New Bedford Casa da Saudade Library Closure Sparks Political Showdown

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — State Representative Tony Cabral of New Bedford is calling on Mayor Jon Mitchell to reverse his decision to close the Casa da Saudade library in the city’s South End.

The closure is part of what Mitchell called “austerity measures” after the New Bedford City Council cut $10.2 million from the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, but City Council President Shane Burgo said Monday the cuts are just “an opportunity” and that Mitchell has wanted “to close down Casa da Saudade for years now.”

“He’s doing this because he’s already attacked the Casa da Saudade,” Burgo said. “He’s already wanted to close it down. It has nothing to do with the city council, but he won't say that.”

READ MORE: Mitchell and Burgo Clash Over $10M in New Bedford Budget Cuts

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What Is the Casa da Saudade Library?

The branch opened on April 25, 1971, and is the only Portuguese public library in the United States. According to Cabral, the library “houses more than 34,000 volumes related to the Portuguese-speaking world in English, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean Crioulo.”

Cabral’s Plea to Keep the Library Open

“Casa da Saudade is more than a branch library. It is a cultural institution,” Cabral said in a release Monday. “The library is a symbol of New Bedford’s deep Portuguese roots, and a bridge between cultures. We should be proud of Casa da Saudade because there is nothing like it across the entire country.”

Why Is the Casa da Saudade Library Closing?

On July 11, Mitchell announced “austerity measures” due to the city council cutting $10.2 million from his proposed budget, and those measures included the complete closure of Casa da Saudade and a reduction of operating hours at the Wilks and Lawler libraries, among other measures.

“It is an unfortunate decision. There are other alternatives, including asking the city council to restore some of the cuts,” Cabral said.

“I understand the decisions that both the Mayor and the City Council must make with tight budget considerations,” he said. “However, the closure of Casa da Saudade is not simply a budgetary line item – it is a blow to one of the most culturally rich and historically important institutions in our community. I believe there are other options available besides closure, and that is what we expect.”

Burgo: No Need to Close Down Any Libraries

Council President Burgo said that during the city council’s “Cut Night” on June 17, the council “increased the vacancy savings up to six percent, which is very minor” in order to make up for vacant staff positions that “likely won’t get hired this fiscal year,” but that Mitchell is using that as a reason to close the library branch.

“He’s been wanting to close down Casa da Saudade for years now, and he’s using this opportunity,” Burgo said.

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In his weekly appearance on WBSM Monday morning, the council president said the library cuts were intended to defund six staff positions – five full-time positions and one part-time position – that have “remained open for years and years,” according to Burgo.

“(Mitchell is) trying to pad up the budget with positions,” he said. “You have all these positions that remain open for years and years and years, and you never fill them, and it doesn’t look like you’re going to. I know people that have applied and never heard back, never had an interview.”

“The other cut was electricity costs that in our purview were miscalculated,” Burgo said. “We looked at the budget, and library electricity costs were astronomical. We were able to cut down to account for overinflated electricity numbers.”

Burgo accused Mitchell of “lying” in his press release regarding the austerity measures, and playing on people’s emotions with those measures such as closing libraries, browning out fire stations and saying the grass might not get mowed at city parks.

“He is dependent on people not actually looking at the numbers and seeing what’s going on,” Burgo said. “He’s counting on the general public blaming the city council and not actually looking into it further and realizing there weren’t actual cuts to the library, that the cuts to the library had nothing to really do with operating hours or staffing, because we already had vacant positions. There’s no need to close down libraries.”