Renovations and an expansion of the Queens Library in Kew Gardens Hills are scheduled for November.
Joanne King, director of communications for the Queens Library, said this week that the construction plans at the library, located at 72-33Vleigh Place, would be taking place in the fall, rather than in early spring, as originally scheduled.
The library had initially planned to start renovations in the spring while opening a temporary library space on Main Street during the summer, with the fully renovated Kew Gardens branch opening at the end of 2014, a two-year construction effort.
However, according to King, the schedule has changed. The reason for this is that the temporary space on Main Street will not be ready for operation by the summer, from what library officials can determine.
“The renovations are being pushed back a few months because the temporary space on Main Street will not be ready for public service until the fall, and the library felt that it would have been too long to have no library service at all in the community,” she said. “Accordingly, we are holding off closing the current library until we get closer to the move-in date.”
As such, when the library closes the current space and moves into the temporary space at the end of 2012, the library will probably reopen, fully renovated, in the winter of 2015.
The $7.36 million construction effort, with an additional $830,000 for outfitting, will add several new features to the Kew Gardens library, including separate adult, children’s, teens and Quiet Study areas; computer labs for those groups; handicap accessibility; a glass front and a new façade for the library; a self-service checkout and 24-hour self-service check-in for books and other materials; an energy-saving green roof; and an expanded all-purpose room expected to fit 50 people.
Construction, which is being handled by the city Department of Design and Construction, should still take a little over two years, King said, although the construction schedule is subject to change due to weather conditions and other unforeseen factors.
Meanwhile, the library also paid tribute to one of its longtime benefactors, the late Patricia Dolan, who died last November after being struck by a car in Hollis, with a special memorial service held there Wednesday. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall was on hand with others at the library to unveil a special plaque commemorating Dolan for her efforts in leading the call for renovations at the library.
By Jean-Paul Salamanca
jp.salamanca@theforumnewsgroup.com
