Library Rebuild Begins At 'Critical Point' For Sunset Park

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — A long-awaited plan to rebuild Sunset Park's library into an eight-story affordable housing complex kicked off Wednesday with a ceremony that highlighted how the project will serve the rapidly-changing neighborhood.

The Fifth Avenue Committee, a nonprofit that will construct the new multi-use building, hosted library, city, state and local elected officials at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new 20,000-square-foot library and 49 units of affordable housing.

The library-affordable housing combo on 4th Avenue will bring relief to librarians struggling to keep up with growing population of patrons, but also to a working-class community that has struggled to survive influxes of development.

"The reality is, Sunset Park is at a critical point as a community," said Michelle de la Uz, executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee. "This working class, immigrant community is facing increasing gentrification and displacement pressures — there is limited housing that is owned by mission-driven nonprofit organizations that work for the community."

Sunset Park's population and median income has grown at double the rate of the rest of the city since 1990, Maria Torres-Springer, commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said at the ceremony.

The growth has brought challenges to infrastructure, housing affordability and public institutions that the new library might help address in a single project, she added.

"Sunset Park is really one of those only-in-New York City type of neighborhoods," she said. "It has a large, proud immigrant community and an amazing mix of residential and industrial...it's also a community where everyone knows each other, but somehow also maintains a global perspective. In my opinion, it is truly what is great about New York City."

The new building's 49 units of affordable housing will be a mix of studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments that will be available to those making 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. Most units are reserved for those below 50 percent, meaning they will pay between $500 to $1,000 per month.

The library portion of the building is also a reaction to the growth of the neighborhood, Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson told the crowd. The Sunset Park Library is one of Brooklyn's busiest libraries and the now-demolished old building used to struggle to keep up.

"That was something that the library was very clear about," Johnson said. "The community had grown, library usage was at all-time highs and librarians at that branch were doing extraordinary work under really trying conditions."

The library has been operating out of a temporary location after the old building was demolished in early 2018.

Johnson said the old library, built in 1972, had issues with heating and air conditioning and wasn't fully equipped for today's technology. It had only 12 electrical outlets, she said.

The new library, Johnson added, will be updated "for the 21st century."

"It will allow students to finish their homework, allow people to learn English and allow community members to come together to spend time with one another and do whatever their imaginations might seek," she said.

The project, though, was not without its opponents during the planning process. Some residents worried the eight-story building would bring more taller buildings to the area and others said the affordable housing units on top of the library would prevent it from being expanded if necessary.

The $35-million project includes funding from state grants, state and federal tax credits, the city, local council members and the borough president.

Photos by Anna Quinn/Patch, Rendering from Brooklyn Public Library