‘Promises kept’: New Brooklyn Heights Library opens
Space is airy and light-filled
Brooklyn Heights Mom, Jenna with her two daughters, Piper age four, and Tegan, age two and a half, in the new children’s section of the Brooklyn Heights Library. “We’ve been so excited for the Brooklyn Heights Libary to open.” When asked how often they would use the location, Jenna answered, “All the time.” Photos by Beth Eisgrau-Heller
After years of construction and delays due to COVID-19, Brooklyn Heights has a brand new library.
The new branch, at 286 Cadman Plaza West at Tillary and Clinton streets, opened with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday attended by Brooklyn Public Library honchos, elected officials, library staff and friends, and fourth-grade school children from nearby P.S. 8.
The reaction was enthusiastic as attendees took in the sun-drenched main lobby, aka the “Reading Room,” with its double-height ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. This main level is filled with book shelves and reading nooks, and features a “Reading Circle” with curving tiers of seating. The basement level is designed and furnished for the area’s many young children. There is also a multi-use auditorium below grade.
The mezzanine level, which overlooks the main lobby space, is designed for teens and includes a gaming room with two very large screens. There are also two conference rooms on the mezzanine level, each outfitted with one of the six beloved limestone bas reliefs removed from the former library. (The other four reliefs, by Italian sculptor Clemente Spampinato, will go into a new garden outside the Walt Whitman Library.)
From left to right, Nina Collins Chair of the Board of Brooklyn Public Libary, Linda Johnson President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library, Rachel Tiemann Brooklyn Heights Library Manager, Anthony Crowell former Chair and current Board Member of Brooklyn Public Library together with children from a PS8 4th-grade class joyously cut the ribbon on the spacious, light-filled Brooklyn Heights Library branch.
The library occupies the lower three floors of the newly-constructed 38-story luxury condo built on the site of the former Brooklyn Heights branch. The condo’s entrance will be on the Clinton Street side of the building at a new address, One Clinton Street The tower was designed by Marvel Architects and developed by The Hudson Companies Incorporated.
Though smaller than the facility it replaces, at 26,620 square feet the new library still has more public space than any other branch in Brooklyn, with the exception of the Central Library at Grand Army Plaza.
Linda Johnson thanks the myriad of individuals who made the realization of the new Brooklyn Heights Library possible.
Johnson: A milestone
“Today we celebrate a milestone, completing a vision to turn an outdated library into a bright and inspiring space for the 21st century,” said Linda Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. She added, “Not only are we delivering a beautiful new Brooklyn Heights Library, we have generated funds for the renovation of nine other branches, benefiting our patrons throughout the borough and marking the most important moment in rebuilding since the Library was founded 125 years ago.”
Johnson said the $52 million from the sale of the former city-owned property brought not just the new library, but 114 units of affordable housing to Clinton Hill, “which is already inhabited.” It also brought a new library to DUMBO, another planned new library to Sunset Park in a building that will involve affordable housing, and other benefits.
“Each project is very individual. It has to do with the land that we have and the community that we serve,” Johnson told the Brooklyn Eagle following the ribbon cutting. “In this case, we were delivered what is called the core and the shell, and we had to work within the walls. But as the base building was being designed, we were very much a part of that process. We really wanted to make sure the space was light-filled — and it is. It’s really beautiful and bright.”
Former City Council Member, Stephen Levin, who was a key player in the long process that enabled the Brooklyn Public Library to sell the dilapidated building of the original branch, was proud of how the project came to fruition. He thanked all those involved in making the new Brooklyn Heights Library branch a reality.
‘I’ve got goosebumps!’
Rachael Tiemann, managing librarian at the Heights branch, was visibly moved by the opening and thanked her staff by name. “I’m shaking — I’ve got goosebumps!” she said. Tiemann said the library was a second home for her and many others in the community, including people with no other home. She told a story about helping a man apply for a job. Meeting him later, he told her, “M’am, I got the job!”
Fourth-graders from P.S. 8 were front and center as Johnson cut the ribbon. P.S. 8 fourth-grader Lilli Mills received applause as she said, “I read 8,054 minutes in a month during our P.S. 8 Read-a-Thon. That’s 434 hours or five-and-a-half days around the clock. That may seem like a lot of time, but I like to read. Reading is fun for so many reasons, and not just because my class won a pizza party.”
Newly-elected Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso called the new library a “unicorn type of project” because it helped other neighborhoods as well.
Brooklyn Heights Library Manager Rachel Tiemann’s joy overflowed as she addressed attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Reynoso praised former City Councilmember Stephen Levin for pushing hard for the deal that eventually yielded bonuses for the community. “He fought for the best possible outcome,”Reynoso said.
“This is a welcoming, beautiful space,” Levin told the Eagle. He said he still remembers the feeling he got in his childhood library. “That will stick with me forever. And this is the kind of space that will stick with kids forever.”
The space for a 5,000-foot STEM lab for District 13 is in process of being turned over to the School Construction Authority, Levin said.
PS8 4th Grader, Lilli Mills, read the most of any student in the school’s month-long Read-a-thon, “434 hours or five-and-a-half days around the clock.” Her classmates, teachers and Nina Collins looked on proudly as she addressed the crowd.
The library in DUMBO negotiated by Levin as part of the deal “is a beautiful space as well,” he said. “And providing funding for libraries throughout the borough — it was the right thing to do.”
Lincoln Restler, who took over Levin’s spot on the City Council, enthused that the new library was “breathtakingly beautiful. It’s the most gorgeous library in New York City.“
He acknowledged that “getting here was a bumpy ride,” referring to the strident opposition put up by some in the neighborhood who were unhappy with the sale of the city-owned property to a private developer.
Restler praised Deborah Hallen, president of the Friends of Brooklyn Heights Library who “stood by the plan because it was right for the community and right for Brooklyn,” despite the development negatively affecting the view from her own window.
Members of the Librarian staff gather in what will be named the Hart Crane conference room. One of the bas relief panels from the old library building has been installed. This panel represents literature.
Promises kept
“Patience and hard work and dedication got us to this beautiful library,” Hallen told the Eagle. “And promises kept.” The Friends group will “still be making import issues known to the community and to elected officials. We will still be raising funds for the chess club, for the LEGO club. We will still be giving them money to purchase books, audio tapes, artistic events and book events.”
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon said getting to this point was “a long road,” and acknowledged “people who feel loss” of the former library. However, she said, “Here we have a magnificent space that will be their home. I’m blown away by the thought and care that went into this library. This is a great day for our community.”
Simon added, “Sometimes promises are not fulfilled. This time they were.”
Teens will be teens. The mezzanine not only boasts a teen reading area but also a gaming room bound to be a popular destination.
Brooklyn Community Board 2 Chairperson Lenny H. Singletary said, “Not only is Brooklyn Heights receiving a beautiful new library branch, but neighborhoods and residents across Community Board 2 are also benefiting from this project … This is about community. The collaboration has been fantastic.”
Johnson also gave kudos to the Brooklyn Heights Association, which played a major role in shaping the development of the library.
“We are especially excited about some of the more unique elements like the dedicated teen lounge and gaming area, and the large community meeting room,” BHA Executive Director Lara Birnback told the Eagle. “Knowing that many other neighborhoods across the borough are direct beneficiaries of this project is really gratifying and was one of the central reasons we threw our support behind this project in the first place.”
The mezzanine is reserved for teens and provides a spacious, comfortable place where they can immerse themselves in a good book and socialize (quietly) with friends.
Killer wi-fi
The library stocks paper books and downloadable E-Books, said Gary Conway, manager of Technology Support at BPL. There are 24 laptops for use inside the library. People can use the self-check terminals to check out their books, though they can also go to the main desk to check out. “Most people self-check,” Conway said. “It’s easier.” The library also has photocopiers that scan and scan to email (and also copy), he said.
BPL’s Assistant VP of IT Michael Herzog told the Eagle that the access points for the wi-fi are quite high due to the double-height ceilings. “They cover the whole area very well, so the wi-fi is very good and broadband is good here.” Besides the gaming screens upstairs, a large screen on the ground floor in the back will have a constant flow of information for patrons, he said.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is grateful for the new library and how it will serve so many beyond Brooklyn Heights.District 33 City Council Member Lincoln Restler marveled at the benefits the new Brooklyn Heights Library branch will bring to residents and thanked his predecessor, former Council Member, Stephen Levin for his dedication to the project.Democratic State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon understands the power of reading. A disability civil rights attorney and educator Simon created Dyslexia Awareness Day and sponsored a bill that paved the way for DOE’s new Dyslexia early intervention screening program launching in Fall 2022. Dyslexia is a brain-based learning disability characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition.The Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library has something for everyone on each of its three levels.A mother and son explore the new stacks of children’s literature.Ample stroller parking is just one of the new amenities the library has to offer. It filled up within fifteen minutes of the branch’s opening to the public at 1:00 pm. The lower level also includes a multipurpose room outfitted with a stage and top-of-the-line audio/visual equipment.Brooklyn Heights resident, Sheryl Posnick, checks out several books on her way home from a run.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
