Boro Park Library Branch to Undergo Extensive Renovation

YS Gold

Last week, we reported on the renovation of the Public Library on 17th Ave and 60th Street. Now comes the news on the renovation of the Boro Park branch across town.

Borough Park Library began life in 1904 as a small collection inside a small church near 54th Street and 14th Avenue. By 1907, when the collection became an official BPL branch, more than 60% of Borough Park’s population was foreign-born or first-generation American, with many Germans, Italians, Jews, Poles, and Russians residing in the neighborhood. The busy branch was moved to 13th Avenue in 1926 but soon outgrew this new space.

On November 28, 1955, the present-day branch opened on 43rd Street with a collection of 53,000 books, nearly double the holdings of the former location.

Recently, the library announced that the nearly 70-year-old building would be undergoing a big renovation. This comes as one-third of libraries within the BPL system are being rebuilt or renovated in the next five years.

The Borough Park Library renovation plans include extensive repairs to the building’s infrastructure and public-facing improvements on each of the library’s three levels. Infrastructure improvements will include a façade and roof replacement, ADA upgrades and a new elevator, heating and cooling systems, lighting, and safety systems.

Construction is expected to begin in 2024, and after the renovation design is complete, BPL will have a more detailed construction timeline to share.