By Bill Parry
The long-awaited Hunters Point Community Library, which had its ground-breaking in May, received a $3 million boost from the City Council.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) allocated $1 million from his discretionary capital funding in the city’s recent budget and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito added an additional $2 million in order to build the new $33 million branch in Long Island City, the borough’s first library to be built in 20 years.
“The additional $3 million I have secured solidifies our city’s commitment to ensuring this neighborhood has the state-of-the-art, full-service library it deserves,” Van Bramer said. “As the neighborhood continues to grow, this community hub will become a beacon of knowledge and information-expanding access to generations of Long Island City’s residents.”
The project is beginning to rise on the waterfront at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue, next to the Gantry Plaza State Park. The 21,000-square-foot branch, designed by renowned architect Steven Holl, will have a reading garden, rooftop terrace, reading rooms for all ages, a gallery, performance space, a children’s area and sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline from the East River. Public service at the library is expected to begin in 2017.
