FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York City
WHAT: The Brooklyn Borough Board Has calendared a critical vote tonight on the proposed sale and drastic shrinkage of the Brooklyn Heights Library. Last night, in front of Borough Hall Citizens Defending Libraries and other civic groups to called for postponement of the Borough Board vote on the sale of the Brooklyn Heights Library.The Borough Board is scheduled to meet 6:00 PM, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at Borough Hall. Community groups joining with Citizens Defending Libraries are unanimous that the board should not vote on the proposed sale and drastic shrinkage of the central destination Brooklyn Heights Library at this time and that this item should not appear on the board’s agenda because of the absolute lack of transparency concerning the ways in which this proposed sale cheats the public.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 6:00 PM
WHERE: Brooklyn Borough Hall - 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201
WHAT ELSE?: Citizens Defending Libraries and experts about these hoaxes will be on hand to provide facts about the proposed sale and shrinkage of the library.
Here is a link to a page where you can get pictures and a radio report by WBAI's Mitchel Cohen of our rally last night. News12 also covered us well with two separate reports last night.
• PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY: February 29, 2016 Press Conference- Request Eric Adams Postpone Brooklyn Borough Board Vote
http://citizensdefendinglibraries.blogspot.com/2016/02/photo-video-gallery-february-29-2016.htmlOn this webpage you will also find links to our press release about the event (with quotes from the many people who spoke) and our collective letter from community groups to Borough President Eric Adams requesting transparency a postponement of the Borough Board vote until that is achieved.
Unless the vote is tabled, as it should be, two critical votes to watch are those of:
• the supposedly "progressive" councilman Brad Lander pushing for these library sales who just a few days ago was gleeful about how he is still eager to support the Brooklyn Heights Library sale and shrinkage despite the complaint filed with the attorney general's office and the allegations and release of information by the NY Post of bid-rigging to give the library to the low bidder, a de Blasio friend and contributor, with a very inferior bid, andAlso, new for these councilmen and the Borough President and the Borough Board to respond to, as you will hear listening to the radio report are the new charges just filed with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
• Council-member Steve Levin who for more than a year has been assiduously taking great pains to avoid (including as this vote approaches) his fundamental responsibility as Councilman for the 33rd to insist on transparency from the BPL about this sale, the kind of transparency that would, for example, have surfaced the cooked books and bid-rigging.
BTW: Yesterday AM began with another well attended press conference alleging that board of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation (whose members have a significant overlaps with the trustees of the Brooklyn Public Library) is cooking another set of books, those of the park corporation. In each case the cooked books are being used as an excuse to push for over-development, in the park selling our parkland, and by giving away libraries to developers respectively.
CONTACT:
Carolyn E. McIntyre, Michael D. D. White
Michael White, 718-834-6184, mddwhite [at] aol.com
Carolyn McIntyre, 917-757-6542 cemac62 [at] aol.com
Follow us on Twitter: @defendinglibraries
For photos and videos of prior Citizens Defending Libraries rallies opposing the sale, shrinkage, underfunding of New York City libraries, and elimination of books and librarians in the two and a half+ years since its founding, see:
PHOTO GALLERIES- PAST EVENTS
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