The “Reimagined” Hunts Point Library Forgot About The Traditional Library Experience of Book Browsing: It Has No Access For Wheelchairs Or Mothers With Strollers!

The new library design was promoted for its excellence at multiple “Reimagining Libraries” events. it was promoted by those seeking to turn libraries into real estate deals.  And the press, continuing to fall into line behind the official narrative, dutifully gushed about the design when the library finally opened.  But the design of the library didn’t start by considering the basics, how those using the library would access and browse the books.

The three fiction sections of the library are tiered on three inaccessible levels above the lobby. . . No elevators go up to them.

A spokesperson for the Queens Public Library said that library staff was willing to fetch books “for customers” (library officials now insist on calling library patrons by the commercial term “customers”)  The article quotes Joe Bachner, from Jackson Heights in response as saying this misses the point:

“Browsing is part of the enjoyment of going to the library,” he said. He noted that the lack of access also precludes certain patrons from relaxing or reading in those areas, which are fitted out with chairs and charging stations, not to mention the dazzling waterfront views.

See this coverage form the Gothamist: The New $41 Million Hunters Point Library Has One Major Flaw, by Elizabeth Kim, October 3, 2019

There is another story about the construction of the library.  It seems almost as if it was intentional that there were construction problems so that the NYC Department fo Design and Construction could be excoriated in City Council hearings.  Those excoriations are so that it can be argued that library construction should be privatized and turned over to those selling off the libraries. . .  But those are the same people who promoted this “reimagined library” that carelessly neglects the basics of a traditional library.