By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BATTERY PARK CITY — Automatic doors are on their way to Battery Park City’s new library, after disabled patrons complained about getting stuck outside.
Janielle Fermaint, 24, a Battery Park City resident who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around, has been raising her concerns about the library doors at public meetings since the new $6.7 million branch on North End Avenue opened in March.
Those who cannot push open the heavy glass doors have to press a buzzer and wait for someone to let them in. Fermaint once waited outside the library in the rain for 20 minutes, DNAinfo first reported two months ago.
New York Public Library officials initially said the doors could not be replaced without major construction that would force the branch to close for an extended period of time.
But the NYPL recently found a simpler way to retrofit the existing doors in just one or two days, a library spokeswoman said. That work will take place within the next five to seven weeks.
“I think it’s great, not just for me but for other people in the community,” said Fermaint. “Finally, they listened to me.”
“I’m thrilled that it’s happening,” said Linda Belfer, chairwoman of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee, who also uses a wheelchair.
Francine Fermaint, Janielle’s mother, said the issue of automatic doors marked the first time her daughter advocated for a cause on her own.
“Janielle could have jumped into the air out of her chair,” Francine said of the moment her daughter learned about the new doors. “She gave me a high five and said, ‘Yes! We did it! We did it!’”
With the library battle won, Fermaint is now aiming her sites on other targets.
“The World Financial Center needs automatic doors,” Janielle said Monday. “They have some but they could be at every entrance. And another thing — I think all the libraries in the city should have [automatic doors] too.”
