READ ALL ABOUT IT: The facade at the newly reopened Rugby Library in East Flatbush.
Gregg Richards, Brooklyn Public Library
Dedicated &
Professional
Staff
COURIER LIFE, JULY 16-22, 2021 3
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Bookworms in East Flatbush
are in luck, as the Brooklyn
Public Library’s Rugby
branch reopened on Monday
with a newly renovated space
— fi nally completing a decadein
the-making project to modernize
the book emporium.
The library at Utica and
Tilden avenues was built in
1957, and had been closed
since 2017 as crews worked on
a renovation, which had been
in the pipeline since 2005. Initially
pegged as a relatively
modest interior renovation
conducted by the Department
of Design and Construction
during the Bloomberg years,
the project came to also include
an overhauled HVAC
system, new lighting and security
systems, improvements
to the building’s facade and
garden, ADA accessibility upgrades,
and a new antenna to
boost the library’s wifi signal
into the surrounding neighborhood.
The pricetag, once pegged
at $1 million, ballooned to
$10.2 million, with the project
accruing more and more
work as capital funding was
freed up.
“We are overjoyed to
open the doors of Rugby Library
today and welcome the
community! The new lightfi
lled building includes distinct
spaces for teens, adults
and young children and an
outdoor garden for the whole
family to enjoy. And, we had
patrons coming in as soon
as we opened the door for
business,” said Fritzi Bodenheimer,
a spokesperson for
BPL, in a statement. “We are
thrilled to be able to present
to the community a beautiful,
modern, and bright library.”
The interior renovation
includes a wall mural by local
artist J. Mikal Davis, new
furniture, shelving, and computers,
and upgraded meeting
spaces. Bodenheimer said that
the renovated library makes
use of sustainable materials
such as recycled rubber and
cork in the fl ooring, and bamboo
in the ceiling and millwork,
and system upgrades
allow the library to use less energy
and water. The reopened
library also has a new collection
of books to top it all off.
Library patrons had for
the past four years been relegated
to using a mobile
trailer for library services
while the building was undergoing
renovation. Work
on the renovation has hit
a variety of snags over the
past 16 years that have complicated
and extended the
project, with a lack of capital
funding, a cascading list
of fi xes accumulating onto
the work, contracting issues,
natural disasters like Hurricane
Sandy, and fi nally the
coronavirus pandemic all
causing delays at some point
in the last decade-and-a-half.
Check it out!
East Flatbush’s Rugby Library
reopens after renovation
High Quality Private School
Yeshiva Education
GIVE YOUR CHILD THE EDUCATION OF A LIFETIME
SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS
WITH NO BACKGROUND
“Every child should have access to a Yeshiva Education”( Rabbi London)
RABBI JACOB LONDON YESHIVA
2102 AVENUE T BROOKLYN
N.Y. 11229
718-646-9368
Junior High School
and High School 7-12
Registration
is Now Open
September
2021
NYS REGISTERED and REGENTS DIPLOMA
JEWISH AND SECULAR SUBJECTS
SMALL CLASS SIZE AND INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION
AUXILIARY SERVICES AND SPECIAL EDUCATION
TRANSPORTATION
AVAILABLE
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE IF QUALIFIED
FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION 718-646-9368
44th ANNUAL
BRIGHTON JUBILEE Presented by THE BRIGHTON NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
SUNDAY, AUGUST 29th, 2021
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
(Rain Or Shine)
Along Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn NY
from Corbin Place to Coney Island Ave
turning down towards the beach.
Vendors and Sponsors
Welcome!!
Vendors must have a valid:
Temporary Street Fair Vendor Permit
from the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA) or Temporary Food
Service Establishment Permit (Street
Fair) from the Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
10x10 Curb and 20x10
Middle Isle Spaces Available
LOTS OF GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO
MAKE MONEY AND PROMOTE
YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICES!
OVER 125,000 PEOPLE ATTEND EACH
YEAR. BECOME PART OF A
“BROOKLYN TRADITION!”
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL (718) 891-0800