Hunters Point Library location
April 2, 2015 By Christian Murray
A groundbreaking is scheduled for the highly-anticipated Hunters Point library on May 16.
The event will come just two months after it was announced that the city had generated the funds needed to build the elaborate library.
Construction of the library, which will be built at Center Blvd/48th Ave (next to Gantry Plaza State Park), was expected to begin in 2013. However, it was caught up in red tape after the city was unable to find a contractor willing to build it for the $28.6 million that had been allocated.
The bids came in ranging from $33 million to $42 million and the city had to do some value engineering in order to find a construction company that would build it within budget. Furthermore, additional funding was found.
In other news, the Court Square library, located on the ground floor of the Citibank Building, is undergoing an expansion that is expected to be completed in about two months, according to a library official. The fire alarms still need to be installed and the Department of Buildings has to inspect it before it can open.
With the extension, the library will be 3,200 square feet in total, up from its current size of 2,000 square feet.
“The [new] space is going to encompass a children’s room and a separate meetings/program room,” said Joanne King, Director of Communications with the Queens Library.
This expansion will allow the library to better serve the needs of the growing community, King said.
“Right now, the library has a tiny children’s section…but there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood,” she said.
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11 Comments
It’s about time! It will be lovely to have a library adjacent to the park. Families will be able to come and spend the day inside and outside. I agree with the earlier comments, the area is flooded with young families. Parents and nannies will welcome the addition, as will others.
Uhhh…didn’t they do this once before? I seem to recall them coming in and setting up a bunch of chairs and the mayor scooping a shovel of dirt. Then nothing happened for years.
They did but that was with a different mayor. We have the socialist mayor now so he wants to make sure he gets credit too!
Please tell me who this socialist Mayor is? The same mayor whose major contributor was a real estate developer?
Liberal democrats are not Socialist – they are capitalists who try to put a velvet glove on its iron fist. Stop watching Fox and at least learn something about the folks you profess to hate.
My theory is that libraries and cafes in NYC get a lot of use because apartments are built smaller and smaller. Therefore, people use these spaces as way to escape or get some peace and quite when they need to work or concentrate.
I showed up in nyc w nothing. I’m now finishing an engineering degree on scholarship, which I prepared for by reading all day in the ny public library. People also use them to job search. I
Jamie,
obviously you don’t live near the library and have never walked past it on the days they have story time. There is a line of strollers waiting for it to open and start. these days libraries aren’t just for books, they offer computers for those who don’t own one, a place to study, classes and all sorts of other activities. Believe it or not, in this digital age many people still prefer to read and actually book! I know I do. You can download books from the library also.
I live next door i am sure this place will be used quite a bit
lots of children in the neighborhood will use it
and to not have an empty lot there will be nice too
Yes Jamie, they do. And libraries are valuable resources for all.
In this day and age, do people still go to the library? Who will be using it? I did when I was a child, but hasn’t digital technology changed that? I guess it could be a good thing for a neighborhood to have. Hopefully, it is a resource that is used given all the money put into it.
Not everyone can afford a computer.