The Brooklyn Public Library’s Brownsville Library has served patrons for more than 100 years and is due to receive a full-scale renovation. An original Carnegie branch, the elegant, 9,600-square-foot building is constructed of elaborate brickwork, limestone trim and a columned portico. Inside, Brownsville Library contains an open reading room with two fireplaces. With several large public housing facilities in the Brownsville neighborhood, the library is popular in its vibrant community for providing career help and well attended teen programming.

Anticipated to begin in 2021, Brownsville Library will undergo a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation. Inside, the library’s outdated systems will be replaced. This includes the mechanical, heating and cooling, electrical, fire alarm, security and plumbing systems. In order to better accommodate Brownsville Library’s public programming, the interior spaces will be reconfigured and new walls, floors, ceilings, shelves and ADA-compliant bathrooms will be installed. The library’s exterior facade will be fully restored, and environmentally friendly landscaping will be added. The Brownsville Library restoration project is currently in the design phase, which will continue until 2020. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2021 and will last for approximately three years, during which time the branch will be closed. In 2024, Brownsville Library is expected to reopen and welcome patrons back to a better equipped, more comfortable space.

Join Project Manager Michael Gunther, David Lewis of LTL and Brownsville Library branch manager, Paul Levy in a virtual discussion about the changes slated for this branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.