Rendering of the renovated Eastern Parkway Library exterior.<\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2013 Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa and Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson today announced the start of a $36 million project to renovate and expand the Eastern Parkway Library, increasing the branch\u2019s public space by more than 50% while preserving its historic site architecture. DDC expects construction to be completed in summer 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cLibraries are where New Yorkers go to learn, discover and imagine what is possible, and they deserve spaces that meet the needs of our city today,\u201d said Mayor Mamdani. \u201cThis $36 million investment will make Eastern Parkway Library fully accessible, more energy efficient and more welcoming, while honoring the architecture that has made this branch a beloved part of Crown Heights for more than a century. With more natural light, a green courtyard, a reading terrace and spaces for kids, teens and families, we are giving New Yorkers a library worthy of the community it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRenovations like this one recognize that practical doesn\u2019t have to come at the expense of excellent,\u201d said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. \u201cThis $34 million renovation will deliver a more accessible and efficient building while celebrating the historic architecture that makes the library so iconic. Thank you to the Department of Design and Construction and Brooklyn Public Library for designing this renovation with care and modeling how we build with purpose and heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Eastern Parkway Library has served Brooklyn for over a century. The renovation \u2014 which will bring more natural light into the branch, add modern technology and create inspiring spaces \u2014 will ensure that Eastern Parkway Library can serve the community for another 100 years,\u201d said\u202fLinda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. \u201cThanks to Settlement Housing Fund, Amazon and IKEA, we are opening a temporary library in the neighborhood this fall, ensuring vital library services remain accessible throughout the construction process.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Eastern Parkway Library is an architectural gem in the Crown Heights community and one of the busiest libraries in Brooklyn, and we are thrilled to break ground on this amazing project,\u201d said DDC Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa. \u201cThis project is not only upgrading the interior of this unique, two-story building, but we are also making it fully ADA-compliant and expanding public space by more than 50%! This is what the community asked for, and what we\u2019ll be delivering.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eastern Parkway Library has served the Crown Heights community since 1914. The Carnegie library is a two-story Classic-Revival building with a limestone fa\u00e7ade and distinctive long, arched windows. The library features double-height reading rooms with abundant natural light and mezzanines overlooking the lower floor.<\/p>\n
The expansion will add a large glass fa\u00e7ade to bring more natural lighting into the library and make the building fully ADA-compliant with a new elevator and entrance ramp. The redesigned branch will include dedicated reading and learning spaces, including a multipurpose room with a projector, a main reading room, a teen zone, two children\u2019s zones, a STEAM room, a community room and a classroom in the restored fireplace room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rendering of the renovated Eastern Parkway Library exterior. NEW YORK \u2013 Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Department of Design…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-331066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}