The New York Public Library Officially Kicks Off 125th Street Library Renovation, Seek Public Input

Survey launched to solicit public feedback on the $20 million project to modernize and improve the 113-year-old Carnegie library branch  

MARCH 9, 2017 – The New York Public Library today shared an update on the renovation of the historic 125th Street Library in Harlem and launched a survey soliciting public feedback to help shape plans – part of its successful “Building for You” community engagement process.

New York Public Library President Tony Marx joined City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer at the 113-year-old library to officially kick off the $20 million renovation, which will modernize and provide much-needed improvements to the building.

The officials also launched a public survey, part of the Library’s “Building for You” community engagement process around capital projects. The survey can be taken in the branch or online at nypl.org/capitalprojects, and will be used to determine which elements the public wants and needs in the new 125th Street Library.

Community meetings to update the public on the project will be held in the future.

“The 125th Street Library has provided information, knowledge, and opportunity to the people of Harlem for over a century, strengthening that community with programs and classes, books and internet, and a welcoming, caring staff,” said NYPL President Tony Marx. “We are so grateful to the city for the opportunity to transform this historic  branch into the modern library New Yorkers of today and tomorrow need, and we invite all members of the community to help us shape these important plans.”

The project was announced shortly after the city’s historic $300 million 10-year capital investment in libraries in Fiscal Year 2016. The New York Public Library is using its share of the funding to completely renovate five original Carnegie libraries in high-needs areas of New York City, including Melrose and Hunts Point Libraries in the Bronx, Port Richmond in Staten Island, and Fort Washington and 125th Street in Manhattan. The 125th Street project also includes funds from the Borough President.

“From supplying an endless array of books for our children to read, to hosting literacy courses and offering free access to the Internet, libraries are an essential part of our communities and the cultural backbone of our City,” said New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “I am thankful that the 125th Street Library in my district will be undergoing renovations and launching the ‘Building for You’ process to improve community engagement with El Barrio/East Harlem library goers. The Council is proud to work with the New York Public Library to continue providing all New Yorkers with free and fair access to the resources that they need.”

“Beautiful, modern libraries are a necessity for New Yorkers of all ages, in every neighborhood,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “I’m thrilled that my office could support the renovation of this venerable branch library, which has more than a century of history. With input from the community, the renovation should make this library a community centerpiece for generations to come.”

The Library explained in its update that it has done early work on the 125th Street project, including hiring architecture firm Cannon Design; doing a conditions assessment on the three-floor, 14,000-square-foot building that showed the need for code compliancy, a general façade restoration, replacements of the buildings windows and floors, upgrades to HVAC and electrical systems, new bathrooms, and an elevator; The need to transform a vacant third floor apartment space that was once home to the live-in custodian into public space or mechanical space, freeing up valuable public space elsewhere in the building; and developing “standards” for what elements of the historic building must be preserved while also modernizing the building to best serve the patrons of today and tomorrow.

The Library has also discussed the needs of the community with the staff of 125th Street Library, showing that there is a need for increased classroom and community spaces, for example.

The schematic design process is starting now with that information and the feedback that comes from the survey and public meetings. The branch is expected to close in late 2018 for construction and reopen in 2020.

The 125th Street Library, located at 224 East 125th Street in Harlem, opened in 1904 with funds from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and was designed by noted architects McKim, Mead and White. With more than 100,000 visits over the past year, the branch works closely with local organizations and offers a robust suite of services to provide patrons in the community with access to technology, early childhood literacy programs, and health and wellness resources.

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.