Mayor Bloomberg defunded New York libraries at a time of increasing public use, population growth and increased city wealth, shrinking our library system to create real estate deals for wealthy real estate developers at a time of cutbacks in education and escalating disparitiesin opportunity. It’s an unjust and shortsighted plan that will ultimately hurt New York City’s economy and competitiveness.
It should NOT be adopted by those we have now elected to pursue better policies.
Monday, April 15, 2013: Citizens Defending Libraries outside the Central Reference Library at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, the site of the NYPL's planned expensive consolidating Central Library Plan shrinkage were the NYPL, effectively decommissioning the Central Reference Library, plans to soon rip out the famed research stacks.
Saturday, April 13, 2013: Citizens Defending Libraries outside the Brooklyn Heights where in a deal closely replicating the reviled 2008 closing of Manhattan's beloved Donnell Library in a sale-for-shrinkage plan, library officials are rushing to push forward a sale for shrinkage before December 31, 2013, the last day of the Bloomberg administration. More pictures from that day available here from photographer Jonathan Barkey. Video is available at Citizens Defending Libraries Youtube channel.
Mayoral candidate Sal Albanese and City Council Member Tish James
Saturday, April 13, 2013: Citizens Defending Libraries outside the Pacific Branch library the very heavily used library that was the first Carnegie library to open in Brooklyn. Yards away from the deeply subsidized "Barclays" arena it is one of the two libraries in Brooklyn next Forest City Ratner property that the BPL wants to sell first (the other is the Brooklyn Heights library). The BPL has admitted that it wants to sell its most valuable libraries first. More pictures from that day available here from photographer Jonathan Barkey.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013: Citizens Defending Libraries at the site of the former Donnell Library, closed suddenly in 2008 for sale and shrinkage after secretive planning by the top management of the NYPL. The new library will be one third the size. There will be some ground floor space (the ground floor that was formerly library space with library floors above it will now be shared with a hotel and luxury condominium) the rest of what replaces the old Donnell will be underground. The NYPL sold the library for less than the luxury penthouse in the new 50-stry building replacing it is being marketed for. To build this small replacement library, the NYPL is spending only one third of what that apartment is being marketed for. The Donnell Library that was demolished, reminiscent in design of Rockefeller Center (the land came from John D. Rockefeller) had been expensively renovated with a new auditorium, a new media center and a new teen center.
On right: Ed Hartzog, candidate for City Council in the 5th District
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