As news continues to swirl regarding the potential sale of Brooklyn Heights’ Cadman Plaza Public Library, there’s new perspective to the story as reported by Brooklyn Daily in a post titled “The Brooklyn Public Library wants to cut off its nose to save its face.”
As previously reported, the library is considering demolishing its Brooklyn Heights branch to avoid $9 million in repairs, instead sniffing out developers interested in purchasing the 25,000-square-foot lot—while perhaps allowing the library to remain on the ground floor.
Courier Life’s Brooklyn Daily: Last summer it became apparent just how badly the current Brooklyn Heights branch building, built in 1962, needed repairs. The air conditioning system went kaput, and the staff had to close the sweltering facility on at least 30 days.
“Last summer, a lot of senior citizens came in here complaining that they couldn’t go to the library,” said Kenn Lowy, owner of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. “It obviously needs a lot of help, so if they can make a plan to fix it, that’s great.”
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Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, said she is concerned that the new library will be smaller. She is also concerned that the temporary library space will not have the services patrons have come to expect.
“A lot of people go to this library and want to use computers or study in the library in the summer,” said Stanton. “They don’t want to have to sit in the Starbucks.”
