BY JESSICA PARKS
Locals were surprised on
Friday to hear that the Flatlands
library branch was
unexpectedly beginning a
yearlong closure to undergo
a roof replacement — with
many civic gurus claiming
they were given no notice of
the closure.
“Wow that is shocking,
that is just shocking,” said
Gerard Brewster, a former
board member of the Flatlands
Flatbush Civic Group.
“But the reality is if they do
have a roof problem… then
I understand why they are
closing it.”
City Councilmember
Farah Louis sent an email
blast on tthe afternoon of
Feb. 16 alerting community
members to the closure,
which is also listed on the
Brooklyn Public Library’s
web page for the branch on
Flatbush Avenue.
“The Brooklyn Public Library
has announced that
the Flatlands Library will
close today, February 12,
2021 for a scheduled roof replacement
COURIER LIFE, F 18 EBRUARY 19-25, 2021
and will reopen
Winter 2022,” Louis wrote.
But an employee of the local
community board claims
that they’d been led to believe
the book lender would
close for repairs beginning
on March 15 — and that Feb.
12 was just the last day for
pick-ups.
“We were told about it
last week, but we were told
it would begin construction
in March,” said Dorothy
Paul, an assistant at Community
Board 18, “but today
we just got notification
from Councilwoman Farah
Louis’ office that they are
actually closed. BPL didn’t
give us any update today,
only Farah Louis.”
However, a spokesperson
from the library said
the $2-million work to replace
the leaky roof was
scheduled to start prior to
the pandemic, and was just
given the approvals to move
forward after being put on
the back burner. They did
not address the March 15
date shared with the community
board.
“The Flatlands Library
is closing for a roof replacement.
The project, which
is being managed by the
Department of Design and
Construction, was placed on
hold during the pandemic
and just released by the Office
of Management and Budget
for work to begin,” BPL
spokesperson Fritzi Bodenheimer.
“The current roof
leaks and has long outlived
its lifecycle.”
The Flatbush Library was
previously closed for three
months in 2019 to construct
a new conference room and
activity space for kids.
Meanwhile, the branch
had been suffering from
an $8 million shortfall for
much-needed repairs and
upgrades — as of the library
system’s list of unfunded
capital needs from October
The Flatlands library branch is closing Feb. 12 until Winter 2022 to undergo
a roof replacement. Photo by Steve Solomonson
of 2019 included $2.8 million
for interior renovations
and $1.9 million for exterior
work and windows.
It is unclear at the time of
publication whether the exterior
work listed includes
the roof replacement, but it
seems doubtful as other library
branches separately
categorize roof work.
Any materials on hold at
the Flatlands Library can
be picked up at the Mill Basin
Library, which Paul said
will also see repairs to its
roof soon. Patrons can visit
any other BPL locations
nearby across the borough,
or use services available in
their “virtual library,” according
to Bodenheimer.
Book with a twist
Yearlong Flatlands Library closure ‘shocks’ locals
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