Three QPL branches to reopen following budget restorations
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Three Queens Library branches, including the Bay Terrace Library, are reopening later this year after they were at risk of getting delayed amid budget issues. Photo via Wikimedia Commons by Tdorante10
By Ryan Schwach
Three Queens library branches currently under construction and previously at risk of not reopening, will soon open their doors as a result of new funding included in the recently passed city budget, the Queens Public Library system said on Tuesday.
With the restoration of more than $16 million in total funding for the Queens Public Library system, the branches at Bay Terrace, Broadway and Hillcrest – that all were at risk of staying closed in a sort of limbo phase – will soon welcome in Queens residents.
After months of fighting for the library's funding restoration in the budget, advocates got what they were looking for when the City Council and Mayor Eric Adams agreed to give the city’s three library systems – Queens, Brooklyn and the New York Library – a total of $58.3 million in restorations. That funding included $16.6 million in restorations for QPL alone.
With the reinstating of the funding, the libraries were able to bring back Sunday service and pull back on threats that libraries may have had to close Saturdays as well, dropping down to five-day service.
“Brooklyn, Queens, and New York Public libraries are thrilled that the budget agreement includes the full restoration of funding for public libraries – a resounding victory for all New Yorkers,” the three library systems said in a joint statement following the budget agreement. “We are honored to be able to continue the vital programs, initiatives, and hours of operation that this great city so clearly wants, needs, and deserves.”
On Tuesday, the Queens Public Library announced that the three libraries at Hillcrest, Broadway and Bay Terrace will be able to reopen after they had been closed for construction, and were at risk of seeing significant construction delays without the restorations to the library’s budget.
The Broadway Library in Astoria closed in March 2022, and was previously slated to reopen in the fall of 2023.
The renovations included improvements on the lower level – a new computer center, new public restrooms, updated meeting rooms and new décor.
QPL says that construction is complete already, and once staff are in the building, QPL will need approximately two weeks to prepare the branch.
It is currently scheduled to open in early August, “assuming this goes smoothly,” QPL said.
The Southeast Queens Hillcrest library is ahead of Broadway, and is currently awaiting final inspections, after which it will take approximately two weeks to reopen.
The branch will open with a new roof and HVAC system.
The Bay Terrace branch in northern Queens closed back in 2021 to undergo $5.7 million in upgrades.
Once it reopens, the Bay Terrace Library will include the addition of a new teen room, a new multipurpose community room with audiovisual equipment and an ADA-compatible accessible entrance at the side of the building.
The Bay Terrace library was built in 1981, and was funded by Mayor Bill de Blasio, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and State Senator John Liu, as well as the late Councilmember Paul Vallone, who passed away earlier this year.
“A full modern renovation with upgraded technology and space for local teenagers will allow more residents to experience the wonderful programs the Queens Public Library has to offer,” Vallone said when the renovations were announced in December 2021.
The building is now awaiting final inspections, after which preparation for reopening would take approximately two months.
QPL hopes to be able to reopen Bay Terrace in the fall.
QPL CEO and President Dennis Walcott celbrated the reopening announcement.
“The public has been patiently waiting for Bay Terrace, Broadway and Hillcrest to resume service, and we are very pleased that we will finally be able to reopen these branches,” said Walcott. “Now that our funding has been restored, we are working as quickly as possible to fill the positions needed for the three locations. Each branch will require different levels of preparation before they can open their doors again, and our staff are eager to ready them for the public.”
Also celebrating the announcement was Borough President Donovan Richards, who argued for the library to get its funding back in the new budget.
“Our libraries have been, are and always will be the heart and soul of our communities,” said Richards. “I’m deeply grateful to Queens Public Library for its advocacy and for all our government partners for their work in securing a full restoration of library funding this fiscal year. I look forward to standing alongside our friends at QPL and cutting the ribbon at each of the Broadway, Bay Terrace and Hillcrest library branches as they reopen in the coming months.”
“Our borough will be a healthier, stronger place to call home once these branches are up and running again,” the BP added.
The fight for the funding that will allow QPL to reopen the three branches was a tenuous one, and included Walcott himself telling the City Council – who also wanted to see the budget restored – that the cuts would be completely “unsustainable” for the system.
Although not included among the budget opening woes, QPL will also open the doors on the brand new Far Rockaway library later this summer.
