Southern Brooklyn libraries level up
Branches in Coney, Gerritsen and Mill Basin get storm-resilient solar power
BY JESSICA PARKS
The Coney Island Library
launched a new solar-powered
backup system on Nov. 16,
which comes as part of a multimillion
dollar effort to retrofi t
southern Brooklyn’s book repositories
into storm-resilient
disaster hubs.
“We equipped Coney Island
library to weather future
storms and help the surrounding
community weather them,”
said Linda Johnson, president
and CEO of the Brooklyn Public
Library system, at a presser
atop the roof of the library.
Along with the Coney Island
branch, three others —
Gerritsen Beach, Mill Basin,
and the Kings Highway branch
in Sheepshead Bay — will see
upgrades to provide a community
lifeline during future Superstorm
Sandy-level weather
events.
Offi cials joined BPL leadership
to showcase the 60 solar
panels and battery backup
system, which will generate
renewable energy for the city
power system — but, more importantly,
keep the library powered
during power outages.
The Governor’s Offi ce of
Storm Recovery is funding the
$4 million project to outfi t the
four southern Brooklyn library
branches, which are all located
in fl ood-prone areas that saw
severe damage from Sandy.
The Coney Island branch
suffered drastic fl ooding during
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the 2012 storm, as waters
rose several feet above the
building’s ground fl oor, and
extreme rain brought plumes
of sand and seawater gushing
into the book house.
Subsequent renovations
were completed last May after
the fi rst phase of the $1.7 million
construction project commenced
in April 2019.
“The library remains the
most versatile and Democratic
institution in our city and
that’s why it also must be the
most resilient,” Johnson said.
“When Superstorm Sandy
fl ooded this branch in 2012, we
knew that we didn’t just have to
build it back, but we had to actually
build it back better.”
Meanwhile, the Gerritsen
Beach branch reopened after
undergoing “massive damage”
during the storm the year before
and had to be totally renovated
as leaks throughout the
one-fl oor library destroyed
much of the interior.
Now nearly a decade after
the hurricane that rocked
the Big Apple, the four libraries
will be armed with backup
power systems, provided
through a partnership between
the Governor’s Offi ce of Storm
Recovery and SolarOne, which
will keep the buildings powered
to serve the community as
an emergency hub in the event
of a storm.
The solar panels will typically
be connected to the city’s
power grid, but they will be
disconnected in the event of a
storm. The stored power in the
backup battery is enough to energize
the libraries for a day,
and, with enough sunlight, the
panels will generate enough energy
into the backup battery to
use the next day.
Regular library services
would be suspended during a
hurricane, but the space will
instead be open to the public to
charge their electronics, warm
up from the cold, or utilize an
array of emergency services.
“If our neighbors lose power
in their homes they will be able
to charge their essential devices
in their dry, warm local
library,” Johnson said.
The 60 solar panels are
raised on a canopy nine feet
above the roof, which allowed
them to squeeze in as many as
possible, and the backup battery
— created by Simpliphi —
is the fi rst lithium-ion battery
installed in New York City, chosen
because of its safety.
This project is one of a few
that are being conducted to reinforce
the southern Brooklyn
coastline from storm surges,
while also developing emergency
services for residents
during the time of a serious
weather event.
“We are determined to make
our libraries and the neighborhoods
they serve more resilient
and more sustainable,” Johnson
said.
The solar panels at the Coney Island library branch are raised on a canopy
9 feet above the roof. Photo by Jessica Parks
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OF NEW YORK
Dr. Natalie Marks:
The First Vascular Medicine
Specialist in Brooklyn
DIRECTOR OF THE VEIN CENTER
718.438.3800
960- 50 St., Brooklyn, NY 11219
www.VascularNYC.com
NATALIE MARKS, MD
Established 1992
Clinical Associate Professor
of Medicine at the NYU School of Medicine
/www.VascularNYC.com
/www.VascularNYC.com
