By Kathianne Boniello
The one place Little Neck residents should avoid these days if they would like to get warm is the North Hills branch of the Queensborough Public Library, which has been without heat for more than a week during the area's extreme cold, a spokeswoman said.
The North Hills branch, at 57-04 Marathon Parkway in Little Neck, is the only public library in Queens without heat, public relations associate Judy Close said. There are a total of 63 public libraries in the borough, she said.
The problem began Jan. 18, Close said, when a heating coil froze, bringing temperatures inside the building to below 62 degrees.
“They're awaiting repairs and they're looking forward to getting it repaired and up and running again in the next few days,” Close said.
Close said the library has been using space heaters since Monday to alleviate the cold.
The North Hills library heating problems came in the midst of a two-week span of arctic temperatures and strong winds in the metro area.
The area also saw its first snowstorms of the season in the past couple of weeks, with a storm Tuesday that blanketed Queens with several inches of snow.
The library has been closed intermittently since the problem began, she said, and North Hill's seven employees were relocated to nearby branches.
“It's still going to try to be open to the public every single day,” Close said. “They'll continue to monitor the temperatures indoors. They are going to try and get it replaced as fast as they can.”
The North Hills library was closed two days last week and the branch shut its doors early on another three days last week, she said.
Close also said North Hills would take the closing into consideration and be lenient when it came to fines for overdue books.
“People can bring them in,” she said. “They won't be fined.”
