Gothamist: The New Bronx Library Center

jon

Thu, 12 Jan 2006 15:32:24 -0500

Looks like you can get a tattoo after you are done at the library

original lower case k

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:18:52 -0500

right, that's why i wrote Queens Public Library.....don't mess with me on public libraries, baby, they are my second home. all of them. does strike me as a little odd that queens could fund those kind of hours but nypl can't. as for book damage...i really did spend way too much time in that library when I lived in portland, and i never saw any mishaps. i'm pretty sure the gorgeous new koolhaas-designed central branch of the seattle public library lets you have coffee in those commuter mugs all over, so long as they have a spill proof lid. they don't check or anything.

mike

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:31:04 -0500

Boy, that's one ugly and uninspired building.

Toby

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:19:29 -0500

For the record, the Brooklyn Public Library is also independent of the NYPL system. The NYPL just serves Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island.

nisey79

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 17:32:52 -0500

k (the original lower case k), the Queens Borough Public Libraries are independent of the New York Public Library system, thus the difference in hours. Very cool about the Starbucks, but do any of the books get damaged as a result?

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 17:04:20 -0500

i can't believe you stopped talking about williamsburg long enough to run a bronx story!

Anonymous

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:58:01 -0500

k, Bloomberg had nothing to do with this building and it is highly unlikely that the Architect Agreement was not publicly bid. The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox & Tilden Foundation is a private not-for-profit, and while it receives city funding, it is not a city (or state for that matter) entity. The beautiful design of this project is simply due to forward thinking on the part of the New York Public Library.

lauren

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:23:27 -0500

Two years to build, yes... but about 20 years in the making. Come up and visit January 17!

zincink

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:00:17 -0500

i'm going!!!!! i can't wait..whee!

zincink

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:59:42 -0500

i'm going!!!!! i can't wait..whee!

k (the original lower case k)

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:55:22 -0500

Some of the Queens Public Library branches are are open 7 days a week; should be everywhere, and it would be great if they were open earlier in the day, too. Libraries are cool places; really, open them up 24 hours a day. I'm no fan of Starbucks, but the Multnomah (Portland, OR) County Library did open up an espresso stand in the central library. The fiction room, where the SB is, allows you to have coffee with you. At least a decade ago that was true. I think a portion of the stand's sales did go to the library system.

k

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:24:29 -0500

one of bloomberg's first initiatives was to take the city's bidding process for public buildings and open it up to design merits, not just ugly bottom dollar bids.

Joe

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 13:59:22 -0500

Wow, it took less than two years for them build this new library from scratch. The 115th St. branch, my local library, has been under renovation for at least three years.

Jen

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 13:36:24 -0500

I think NY state ended up giving a few million to the project. but itls very sad that the city can't afford to keep some libraries open on the weekend.

pugsley

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 13:06:14 -0500

Library looks great. I've always been baffled why most all libraries in town are designed like prisons and have bizarre hours. Seems like the most economical way of helping kids stay out of trouble and better themselves in the process is to have grand libraries, open every day. The city council always finds novel ways to waste money, but ignores the obvious.