4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 30, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Local families, NYPD reps meet for day of fun
BY DEAN MOSES
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th e NYPD Community Aff airs Bureau
and the 101st Precinct hosted a community
Photos by Dean Moses
QPL reports ‘no issues’ after reopening several branches
BY JASMINE PALMA
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Nearly two weeks aft er launching library
to-go services, the Queens Public Library
says its lent out tens of thousands of items.
Seven library branches — Bayside,
Bellerose, East Elmhurst, Kew Gardens,
Laurelton, Long Island City and Peninsula
— began providing grab-and-go service
on Monday, July 13, aft er having been
shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Th e open branches lent approximately
3,800 books and materials, and checked
in more than 20,000 items, according
to the QPL. Th e library also welcomed
an estimated 2,000 patrons back to its
branches.
“Everyone is so happy just to be able
to enjoy the service,” said Dave Wang,
manager of the Laurelton branch. “Even
though the library service is limited, you
will see all coming back.”
QPL further reported that over 315,000
items were on loan from the library when
branches across the borough closed their
doors in an eff ort to slow the spread of
COVID-19. However, there is no rush to
return the items immediately.
Checked out books, movies and CDs
will not be due nor begin to amass fi nes
until Oct. 1.
In spite of the progression toward normalcy,
Queens Public Library has conveyed
health and safety as its top priority
during the reopening.
“We understand the reality. We’ve been
cautious. Now in New York, we are in
good shape. We try to do more for the
public,” Wang said.
Visitors and staff have been practicing
social distancing and wearing masks,
according to Ewa Kern Jedrychowska,
the deputy communications director for
Queens Public Library. Signs have been
placed at each location reminding visitors
to maintain a six-foot distance with one
another and to keep their masks on.
“So far there have been no issues and all
of our customers have followed our health
and safety protocols,” said Jedrychowska.
Depending on how the to-go service
unfolds at its current locations as well as
how New York’s overall reopening plan
plays out, Queens Library will slowly
open more of its branches.
Th ere is no concrete timetable for when
a full reopening of the libraries will occur,
according to QPL.
Another nine branches, though not
open for to-go service, have started to
receive returns at book drops and external
return machines. Th ose branches
are located in Cambria Heights, Central,
Flushing, Jackson Heights, Queensboro
Hill, Rego Park, Ridgewood and South
Ozone Park branches.
“We try as best we can to deliver service
to the public,” said Wang. “Th e library’s so
important to the life of the community.”
File photo courtesy of QPL
The Bayside branch of the Queens Public library
eventdesigned to strengthen the relationship
between police offi cers and residents
ahead of atown hall on gun violence
at Hassock Street and Beach Channel
Drive in Far Rockaway on Friday, July 24.
With roadways nearby roads being
blocked off , local families and police representatives
played video games, danced,
played basketball, kicked soccer balls at
a gigantic infl atable dartboard, and even
raced one another up a rock-climbing
wall.
From the late aft ernoon until the evening,
laughter could be heard echoing
between the sound of live music and basketballs
reverberating off the court. Aft er
enjoying the revelry, the event culminated
with a town hall discussing the recent
surge in gun violence around the city.
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