By Lynn Chawengwongsa
It is 11:59 a.m. and a small crowd has assembled outside a one-story building tucked away behind Leonard Square Park. A stranger to the others, every member in this crowd stands patiently in silence, holding a bright yellow and orange bag marked “Queens Library.” This is a typical Monday for McGoldrick Library, which opens its doors at noon, and a familiar scene at other library branches of New York City’s three public library systems: New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library.
A thread within the fabric of New York City communities, the public library system has long been a site of contention in fiscal matters. In a historic announcement over the summer, the de Blasio administration pledged to increase funding for pubic libraries by $43 million. While this is the largest amount of funding ever given to New York’s public libraries, many remain skeptical that the additional money will do little to help public libraries as they continue to face problems of poor infrastructure and the threat of real estate development deals that potentially displace them.
With more than 200 branches across the city’s three library systems, all of which operate as separate organizations, public libraries are growing increasingly popular as community centers. According to the biannual Mayor’s Management Report, attendance for special programs and events hosted by public libraries has steadily gone up between the 2011 and 2015 fiscal years, increasing from 118,295 to 178,461.
Other indicators, such as the increase in service hours and additional staff hired, suggest that the current state of public libraries is a positive one.
“It’s been a great year for libraries. The morale is wonderful,” said Bridget Quinn Carey, the CEO and interim president of Queens Library.
However, heavy budget cuts from the former Bloomberg administration has resulted in millions of dollars in deferred construction and renovation costs. Many of the buildings that New York City’s public libraries occupy are in need of maintenance repairs and an increase in space.
In an email to this reporter, David Woloch, executive vice president of external affairs for Brooklyn Public Library, stated, “throughout our system, we face $300 million in unmet capital needs. It is critically important that the city invest in libraries with operating and capital dollars.”
Library workers and activist groups like Citizens Defending Libraries believe the city’s new plans for additional funding have come too late.
“That was nowhere near what we asked for to make up for the Bloomberg cuts. $65 million was requested,” stated Michael D.D. White, co-founder and president of Citizens Defending libraries, referring to the $43 million budget increase for the upcoming fiscal year.
Ledia Gjoka, a college student and former employee of the Ridgewood Library, expressed a similar sentiment.
“That sounds like a lot but when you think about all the branches that there are in the library, they are really getting a marginalized amount of funding,” she said.
Speaking about the renovations that Ridgewood Library underwent in 2012 during her employment, Gjoka said, “We had the most interaction with the community so we won an award and extra funding for that and that helped us finish our renovations but we had been renovating for 10 years. It wasn’t a hugely complicated renovation either.”
While Mayor de Blasio has also promised public libraries $300 million over next 10 years for repairs, concern for the cost of renovations and repairs is not shocking. Information from the city’s public database, NYC Open Data, show that public libraries have not received state and federal categorical aid since 1994, making former Mayor Bloomberg’s library funding cut of nearly $100 million in 2012 a more devastating amount than one would assume.
Budget cuts from past years and the resulting problems in infrastructure have led public library officials to take on real estate development deals in hopes of restoring library infrastructure.
The latest re-development deal was approved in 2012, when Brooklyn Public Library consented to the building of a high-rise condo by Hudson Companies above Brooklyn Heights Library. Members of the neighborhood’s Community Board 2, who could not be reached for comment, almost unanimously approved the deal as fellow residents of the community vehemently opposed the construction deal. Opponents of the Brooklyn Heights redevelopment deal feared that the condo would displace the library and result in its indefinite closure, such as in the case of New York Public Library’s Donnell Library Center, which has remained closed since the summer of 2008.
In the same email to this reporter, Woloch defended the decision to rebuild Brooklyn Heights on the ground floor of a condo, writing: “With $300 million in unmet capital needs, BPL must seek creative solutions to address the challenges we face. We have an extraordinary opportunity in Brooklyn Heights to build a new, state-of-the-art library for the neighborhood.”
Although all three library systems require increased maintenance and repairs, Queens Library has yet to enter a redevelopment deal with real estate companies. When asked about the possibility, Quinn-Carey did not dismiss the idea.
“The bottom line is, ‘Are we best serving out community?’ and I think our best option is to look at other models,” she hesitated.
While public libraries continue to bring debate over urban planning and budget, they remain the source of fond memories for many New Yorkers.
“One of the greatest things about Ridgewood was my middle school was literally right across the street from the library so it was a two-minute thing to go from a classroom to reading a book if my parents were going to be home late that day and I didn’t want to be home alone,” recalled Gjoka.
For the crowd of patrons who await the opening of the library each morning, McGoldrick Library holds an equally important place in their lives.