Public Employee Press

Part 2 in a series about libraries
100-year-old buildings and underfunding
Libraries face $1.1 billion maintenance crisis



"Many of our libraries are falling apart." — Cuthbert Dickenson Local 374 President

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

The typical branch library in New York City is 61 years old. And a quarter of the city's 207 library buildings were constructed at least a century ago.

"The city's three public library systems face an infrastructure crisis, which is the result of years of neglect and a lack of funding," said Henry Garrido, DC 37's executive director.

"Patrons are flocking to the libraries in record numbers. Unfortunately they are arriving to places with leaky roofs and broken windows, malfunctioning heating and air conditioning systems, tight space, out-of-order restrooms and cracked walls," Garrido said. Garrido was among the speakers at a news conference about the capital plan on March 20. That day, the coalition unveiled a report, "Long Overdue: NYC's $1 Billion Library Fund."

Alarmed about the building conditions and years of inadequate spending, DC 37 is working with a coalition to secure $1.1 billion for a 10-year capital plan for city libraries.An excessive sum? The request amounts to only 1 percent of the city's capital budget.

"The $1.1 billion sought for the capital budget is a realistic amount of money that would allow us to make up for the loss of funds over the years," said Eileen Muller, president of Brooklyn Library Guild Local 1482, who along with other local library leaders and activists went to Albany to press state legislators for more capital spending (see story on page 21). "This would be enough to address our current maintenance problems."

"It is my belief the amount allocated to capital for the libraries is inadequate," said Julissa Ferreras, chair of the City Council Finance Committee, during a council hearing on the library capital budget Feb. 24. "Only one-half of the capital needs are being funded."

"Many of our libraries are falling apart," said Cuthbert Dickenson, president of Local 374, which represents blue-collar library workers in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. "If we fail to address our maintenance problems now, we will only be kicking the can down the road and have to pay more in the future."

Besides the $1.1 billion, the coalition seeks another $65 million to reverse service cuts of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (see March 2015 PEP), returning funding to its 2008 level. That would be enough to restore six-day service throughout the city and to hire more than 700 new workers - a dramatic improvement - yet still 300 less workers than the number lost to downsizing in recent years.

"Re-Envisioning New York's Branch Libraries," a 58-page report issued in 2014 by the Center for an Urban Future, examined the state of disrepair at the New York Public Library and the city's two other public library systems, Queens Library and Brooklyn Public Library. The report found:

• 64 percent of the branches need to replace or repair their HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems;
• 55 percent of the branches require major roof work;
• 32 percent need electrical system upgrades;
• 55 branches are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and
• 23 branches need elevators.

The Center for an Urban Future Report notes, "New York City's Public Libraries are serving more people in more ways than ever before and have become an increasingly critical part of the city's human capital system; but they have been undervalued by policymakers."

Workers in the branches look forward to a makeover at the libraries. They view their workplaces as dreary, and say the deteriorating and outdated conditions of their branches are uninviting to the public.

The Fort Washington Branch in Manhattan doesn't have enough outlets to meet the demand for computer stations and to allow patrons to charge their cell phones, tablets and laptops. In Brooklyn, the Sunset Park branch needs a new roof and boiler. Because its HVAC system broke, the library was forced to install ugly, noisy, portable chillers to keep the facility cool.

The Corona and Rego Park branches in Queens are overcrowded. Throughout the five boroughs, 100 branches are 10,000 square feet or smaller, and 75 of those have less than 8,000 square feet of space.

Branch Manager Liana Acevedo is the at Hunt's Point in the Bronx. "It would be so much easier for us to focus and make sure our patrons get what they deserved if we didn't need to be concerned about leaks in the children's area and whether the building is too cold," Acevedo said. On one day, a week before she spoke to PEP, Acevedo said visitors needed to wear their coats inside because the faulty boiler could not keep the library warm enough.

A leaky roof and buckling floors

The Hunt's Point library was constructed in 1929. The third floor, which used to be a custodian's apartment, is unused because of the lack of capital funds to refurbish it. The space could be used for computer classes, English instruction and alternate education.

Branch Manager Lyman Clayborn works at the Fort Washington library in Manhattan. Clayborn hopes area residents in the neighborhood will support a $600,000 waterproofing and paint job at the branch.

The job is one of five projects the neighborhood is considering paying for with "member item" funds from the local City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez.

This project is an example of the "broken funding system" identified by the Center for An Urban Future study, which points out that Council members often pay for library projects because of the lack funds in the capital budget.

Clayborn mentions a myriad of infrastructure problems at Fort Washington: a leaky roof, the crumbling marble bases of the interior columns, a broken glass light fixture in the entrance, buckling floors on all three levels of the library and a lack of ADA compliance. "We are due for a new HVAC system because we don't have air conditioning," Clayborn said.

"We have to rely on fans and opening the large windows in the summer. It's hard to do library work when you are patching up toilets and sinks and electrical wiring." Because of a lack of outlets on the main floor of the 100-year-old building, patrons must go to the base ment to charge their cell phones and tablets.

The 125th Street branch in Manhattan was constructed in 1904. The outside ramp lacks grooves, so patrons with wheelchairs can't use it during rain showers and snowstorms and must call for help to get inside. Because the building doesn't have an elevator, they don't have access to the community room in the basement or the children's area on the second floor.

"Being built in 1904, the building has bathrooms that are hidden downstairs in the basement," Branch Manger Velma Morton said. "But since there are no public restrooms, we ask people to go to a nearly McDonald's or restaurant."

To support the library campaign, Valentin Colon, president of New York Public Library Guild urges DC 37 members and retirees and library activists to visit www.investinlibraries.org. The site, supported by the three library systems, has information on the campaign, with suggestions for lobbying.

"It's very important to weigh in on this issue," Colon said.

Reinforcing Colon's point, Queens Library Guild Local 1321 President John Hyslop said, "If the City Council members and mayor see a lot of community support for our campaign, we believe they will likely be responsive."