EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (PIX11) — The New Lots branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is set to get a major overhaul — with a goal of addressing outdated infrastructure and supporting the needs of the community.
Open for nearly 70 years, the library has only seen minor upgrades until now.
“We’ll have separate spaces for children, for adults, and teens will also have their own space,” said Fritzi Bodenheimer, spokesperson for the Brooklyn Public Library. “We’re going to have areas for music, for art exhibitions, and there’s going to be some beautiful outdoor plazas where people can enjoy reading and programs.”
The renovation carries a deep cultural and historical significance. In recent years, library officials discovered that the branch partially sits on burial ground, dating back to the Revolutionary War, and containing the remains of free and enslaved African people. The redesign will incorporate and honor the African Burial Ground, making it a cornerstone of the new library’s identity. Librarygoer Amelia Thompson hopes the new space will uncover untold history.
“It gives us knowledge,” Thompson said. “Things that we never knew in schools. It was never taught to us.”
“This has been ignored for quite some years,” said New York State Assembly member Nikki Lucas. “So really to make sure that this community is kind of made whole by recognizing the pain and the suffering and the acknowledgment that this was existing on these grounds is really huge and it sends a message to the community that we’re finally being heard.”
Longtime East New York residents are looking forward to having a future state-of-the-art library in their own backyard.
“The design is beautiful and there are spaces where you can get more information,” Thompson said. “We don’t have to go to the big [Grand Army Plaza] library.”
Construction on the new library is set to begin by fall of 2025 with a goal of completing the space by 2028.
