By Bill Parry
Queens Library’s Broadway branch reopened its Children’s Room after a five-month renovation.
Three-year-old Isabelle Salgueiro had the honor of cutting the ribbon last week as families and children from PS 166 and PS 70 attended the unveiling of the space featuring a vibrant and colorful decor, new furniture and child-friendly computers.
“For children in Astoria the Broadway Library is a magical place,” City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said. “Like so many of our children who live in the neighborhood, I learned to read in the Children’s Room. It is the very space where I learned to dream, and dream big, and countless kids do the same here every single day. These wonderful state-of-the-art upgrades and improvements will give generations of children the technology and software they need to become future leaders of our city.”
Van Bramer secured the $740,000 in city funds for improvements at the Broadway branch. Nearly half went to the upgrades of the Children’s Room on the second floor.
“Our children deserve the very best we can provide when it comes to their education,” Queens Library Interim president Bridget Quinn-Carey said. “Queens Library is an important part of the educational fabric of our city, providing homework help and after-school assistance, as well as a fun and wholesome place to go when school is not in session. The renovated Children’s Room at Queens Library at Broadway is an outstanding space to learn and grow.”
Quinn-Carey added that additional improvements will include a new Cyber Center to “give this community more access to technology” and a renovation of the first floor, including the meeting rooms.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
