Will Include Accessibility For Disabled Persons
The Glendale Library will be renovated to become fully accessible to disabled persons, the design consultant told Community Board 5 during its July 10 meeting at Christ the King High School in Middle Village.
Matthew Baird of Matthew Baird Architects explained the design includes plans to make the building ADA accessible. The service and exit doors will be modified, and an elevator and an ADA compliant staff restroom will be installed as part of the $2.8 million renovation,
The library, located at 78-60 73rd Pl. off Myrtle Avenue, will be renovated to reveal its original 1935 style, while getting modern amenities, Baird said.
“The majority of our work is focused on providing accessibility,” he said. When complete, the building will feature a “dramatically improved wheelchair entrance.”
Work will be completed by the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). There is currently no wheelchair access to the second floor of the building, Baird said.
“We are very excited to be restoring the Glendale Library,” Baird said. “It’s a wonderful building, but over the years there has been some neglect. It’s just a magnificent building.”
The library was built with relief labor by the Work Experience Program in 1935 during the Great Depression. The original entry doors and granite steps will be refurbished, Baird said. Three large, currently sealed windows in the main reading room, and a garden in the rear will be reopened as well.
The front stairs, and changes to the vestibule will restore additional original features to the building.
In addition to restoring some of the original features, new signage, a book drop on Myrtle Avenue and new lighting will be installed.
“Sadly gone are the original lamps,” Baird said. “Our plan is to restore the original landscaping and furniture. We’re going back to the original furniture layout.”
Baird said “traditional” pieces from the era will be added as well.
“We think we can restore the library to the clarity it once had,” he said.
The garden will be spruced up with “indigenous plants that are local to the community,” Baird said.
The design is to be completed by spring 2015, with work to be done by spring 2017, Baird said.
