2 NOVEMBER 4, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Glendale Public Library reopens after renovations
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Glendale Public Library opened its
doors on Oct. 26, aft er closing for
$6.9 million in renovations back
in 2018.
The project made the library completely
compliant with the Americans
with Disability Act (ADA) with the addition
of a new elevator and accessible entrance.
The construction also restored
the library’s rear garden, repurposed
the main reading room and added new
teen and adult reading rooms.
The library at 78-60 73rd Pl. was built
in 1935 through the federal Works Progress
Administration, a New Deal agency
that employed millions aft er the Great
Depression.
Congresswoman Grace Meng attended
the library’s ribbon-cutting ceremony
on Monday, Nov. 1, to celebrate
the newly renovated space.
“Our community is so deserving
of this, and we’re so grateful for the
increased role that Queens Public
Library has been playing in the lives
of our families, especially during the
COVID pandemic,” Meng said. “We all
know how much each of us, regardless
of our backgrounds, depends on the
Queens Public Library.”
Meng said that through the federal
infrastructure bills, she is confi dent
more money will come to the district
and city at some point.
“We will get there,” Meng said. “We
want to make sure we’re providing
more resources, especially for our communities
and our families that have suffered
so much through this pandemic.”
While Glendale Public Library
closed for renovations, it operated out
of a small storefront in the Shops at
Atlas Park just a few blocks away. State
Senator Jospeh Addabbo Jr., who helped
secure that space, thanked everyone
who helped continue library services
for the community.
“It is that teamwork that benefi ts our
people,” Addabbo said. “When agencies
work with elected offi cials for the benefi
t of our people, that’s when government
works best.”
All of the elected offi cials mentioned
they received countless calls and emails
once the library closed asking when it
would reopen.
“When it closed, and our residents
felt a disconnect with the services
that it was providing, we worked with
Atlas Park and got that temporary spot,
only because people spoke out and were
concerned about what they were losing
temporarily,” Addabbo said.
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar
also spoke at the ceremony and thanked
Queens Public Library President and
CEO Dennis Walcott for his dedication
to the community.
“I’m looking forward to working with
many of the leaders here to make the
Glendale Public Library the center of
our community, a place where children
can go and their imaginations are expanded,”
Rajkumar said. “I am so proud
to be here today.”
Councilman Robert Holden remarked
as a strong advocate for public
libraries by Walcott said this library
would be a model for the rest of the
district.
“It’s really an oasis for the neighborhood,”
Holden said. “This is where you
come and travel around the world, it’s
unbelievable what books can do for a
person and where they can take them.”
Holden also mentioned in his remarks
that he will continue to advocate
for a library in Middle Village.
Glendale Public Library opened last week after having been closed for
renovations. Photo by Julia Moro
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