Council Member Laurie Cumbo, PS 532 Students Join Brooklyn Public Library for Reopening of Eastern Parkway Branch

Historic Carnegie Library Welcomes Patrons with Refurbished Interior, Brighter and More Welcoming Public Spaces

Brooklyn, NY—Council Member Laurie Cumbo and students from PS 532 joined Brooklyn Public Library on Monday to celebrate the reopening of Eastern Parkway Library after a seven-month closure. The branch closed in August for a roof replacement and interior renovations including the installation of new shelving, furniture, computers, wired tables, electrical outlets, LED lighting and painting.

“Eastern Parkway Library has served patrons for more than 100 years and is a neighborhood gem, one of the most elegant and stately of Brooklyn’s libraries,” said Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson. “We appreciate our patrons’ support as we renovated this beautiful, historic building, and we look forward to working with city leaders to address the considerable capital challenges we face throughout our sixty branches.”

Eastern Parkway, one of 18 extant Carnegie libraries in Brooklyn, opened in 1914. The branch was last renovated in 1975.

“Public libraries are creative spaces where patrons of all ages can explore their imagination or expand their horizons. The new and improved Eastern Parkway branch will provide an enhanced learning experience to the youth and adults who rely on their neighborhood library for free access to a wealth of resources,” said Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo.

The replacement of the roof at Eastern Parkway Library was completed by the NYC Department of Design & Construction, which manages the Library’s major capital projects. Brooklyn Public Library takes the opportunity during large DDC projects to refurbish the interior of its branches.

“DDC is proud to help facilitate the reopening of Eastern Parkway Library,” said DDC Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora. “This Carnegie library has been a space to foster intellectual curiosity for a century and we’re happy to preserve the historical features of the library while ensuring that the building is resilient in the 21st century.”

At the reopening event, Johnson noted that significant maintenance challenges remain at the branch and throughout the entire BPL system, underscoring the need for increased capital investment in libraries in this year’s city budget. Eastern Parkway needs approximately $7 million in additional repair work, including a new HVAC system and boiler.

Brooklyn Public Library has joined New York Public Library and Queens Library in requesting that the city provide an additional $100 million in capital funding for the three library systems this year. While this is only a portion of the systems’ total capital need, it would allow them to begin addressing some of their most immediate and critical maintenance challenges, setting a course toward solving the billion-dollar maintenance crisis that plagues New York’s libraries.

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About Brooklyn Public Library

Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is an independent library system for the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn. It is the fifth largest library system in the United States with 60 neighborhood libraries located throughout the borough. BPL offers free programs and services for all ages and stages of life, including a large selection of books in more than 30 languages, author talks, literacy programs and public computers. BPL’s eResources, such as eBooks and eVideos, catalog information and free homework help, are available to customers of all ages 24 hours a day at our website: www.bklynlibrary.org.