Before Linda E. Johnson ever walked through the revolving doors of the Brooklyn Public Library’s majestic Art Deco headquarters to take over as the Library’s fourteenth director on July 1, 2010, BPL’S well-being was seriously threatened by a crushing capital shortfall amidst record usage. Following almost a decade of uneven management, first by Ginnie Cooper, […]
Tag Archives | brooklyn heights library
Baby It’s Hot In This Library
With splashy promotional pieces touting its 2014 summer reading campaign, the Brooklyn Public Library is enticing thousands of local school children, many of whose academic year ends this week, to patronize its 60 branches located throughout the vast borough. The kids just shouldn’t be surprised if the air conditioning at their local branch is on […]
What Exactly IS a “21st-Century” Library?
When Josh Nachowitz, the Brooklyn Public Library’s Vice President for Government and Community Relations, refers to plans for a 21st-century library, listeners might be excused for envisioning a branch manned by drones and robots, or—worse yet—assuming that what he really means is a library devoid of books. In fact, Nachowitz, the face of the BPL’s […]
Who Can You Trust in Brooklyn Heights Library Sale?
The Brooklyn Public Library’s controversial plan to sell its Brooklyn Heights library branch site begs the question: who best represents the community’s interest in this project? According to BPL senior leadership, the intent is to sell the Cadman Plaza site to a developer who will build a 40-plus-story tower housing a new library while providing […]
BPL’s Johnson Goes to City Hall, Hat In Hand
Yesterday morning at City Hall in Manhattan, Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library, joined fellow executives Anthony Marx of the New York Public Library and Bridget Quinn-Carey of the Queens Library to petition the New York City City Council for $65 million in fiscal year 2015 funding for their three organizations. […]
BPL’s Nachowitz, Skrodelis and Woloch Discuss Brooklyn Heights Library Plans
The BHB recently sat down with senior management of the Brooklyn Public Library to discuss how plans to sell the site of the Brooklyn Heights branch library to an as yet unnamed developer are evolving amid many variables, not the least of which is community concern about the project’s impact on its Cadman Plaza neighborhood. […]
NYPL About Face on 42nd Street May Impact Brooklyn Heights Library
The New York Times reported Wednesday that due to public opposition as well as spiraling costs, the New York Public Library will not undertake a massive renovation of its flagship headquarters at 42nd Street. The NYPL’s decision will likely have impact throughout the city, particularly in relation to the Brooklyn Public Library’s controversial proposal to […]
Key Stakeholders Respond About Proposed Brooklyn Heights Library Development
BHB spoke recently with Borough President Eric Adams, Alexandra Bowie, President of the Brooklyn Heights Association, Emma Woods, spokeswoman for the Brooklyn Public Library and Michael White of the Brooklyn Heights-based public watchdog Citizens Defending Libraries regarding the proposed sale to developers of the BPL branch at Cadman Plaza. At a reporters’ roundtable attended by […]
New York Daily News: Citizens Defending Libraries Ask deBlasio To “Help Pay” BPL’s $300 Million Repair Bill
Brooklyn Heights based Citizens Defending Libraries will hold a rally tonight (4/8) at 5pm in front of the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch at Grand Army Plaza. On the docket, the NY Daily News reports, is a request that Mayor deBlasio find a way to help the system with its $300 million dollar repair bill […]
Citizens Defending Libraries’ Open Letter to the BHA
After a BHB published a poll asking readers whose position they supported in the dust up regarding the Brooklyn Heights library branch, Citizens Defending Libraries’ Carolyn McIntyre added the screenshot of the results (the poll is still open btw) to her open letter to the Brooklyn Heights Association. As reported here, CDL’s members were very […]
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