10
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019
Brooklyn Public Library
unveils plans for Red Hook
branch revamp
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Check it out!
Red Hook’s Brooklyn
Public Library branch is
getting a $15 million facelift
to make the book-lender
more fl ood resistant and
spacious, according to offi
cials.
Construction on the Wolcott
Street library — which
is slated to start in the fall
of 2020 and last until spring
2022 — will help the branch
meet the city’s fl ood code
and replace its mechanical
systems with an overhaul
of the interior and exterior
of the building.
The fl ood-resilience
project — paid for by capital
funds by Councilman
Carlos Menchaca (D–Red
Hook) and Mayor Bill de
Blasio — comes after the
library branch suffered
signifi cant damage during
Hurricane Sandy, and
is located in a severe fl ood
zone.
In addition to the fl oodprevention
tactics, builders
will take down the bibliotheque’s
front gates and
install outdoor seating and
native plants to make the
library more welcoming,
according to the library’s
website.
Inside, offi cials will rearrange
bookshelves to
make room for fl oor-toceiling
windows — without
losing book space, offi cials
said.
Construction will shutter
the Red Hook library
Brooklyn Public Library plans to launch a $15 million renovation of
its Red Hook Branch starting in fall of 2020. Levenbetts
branch for 18 months —
during which book bigwigs
will deploy their fourwheeled
lending service
Bookmobile near the library
at the intersection
of Dwight Street, ensuring
that Red Hook bookworms
won’t go without their fi ll.
The facelift will earmark
dedicated space for
children’s story times,
teen programs, a community
room, two small
meeting rooms, and
brand new furniture
— along with upgraded
technology.
Architects with the Manhattan
based fi rm Levenbetts
designed the makeover,
and the city’s businessboosting
arm the Economic
Development Corporation is
managing the project.
Levenbetts also redesigned
the interim Brooklyn
Heights Library on
Remsen Street.
Brooklyn Public Library
in 2014 put forward
their fi rst renovation
plans for the branch for a
price tag of $1.8 million,
which controversially included
leasing about half
the building’s space to arts
nonprofi t Spaceworks —
who wanted to transform
that part into rehearsal
studios for performance
artists — but library honchos
ultimately caved on
that scheme, saying they
would be squeezed for
space.
The remade library will feature dedicated space for childen’s story times and teen programs.
Levenbetts
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