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Langston Hughes Library Wins $20K in Contest Honoring City's Best Branches

By Katie Honan | May 21, 2015 12:06pm
 The Northern Boulevard library was one of five libraries to win the $20,000 prize in the annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards contest.
The Northern Boulevard library was one of five libraries to win the $20,000 prize in the annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards contest.
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Langston Hughes Library

CORONA — The Langston Hughes Library and Cultural Center has been awarded new stacks — of cash — in a contest for the best neighborhood library.

The Northern Boulevard library was one of five across the city to receive $20,000 from the Stavros Niarchos and Charles H. Revson foundations in their second annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards.

More than 13,000 residents nominated every single public library in the city, and the foundation narrowed the libraries down to 10 finalists, officials said. 

Winners were selected by a panel of judges that included authors Maira Kalman and Jonathan Safran Foer, and Maya Wiley, counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The Langston Hughes library at 100-01 Northern Blvd. opened in 1969 and became an official branch of the Queens Library in 1987. It's home to the Black Heritage Resource Center of Queens, hosts countless events in its large cultural space and also has a homework assistance program. 

In its nomination, it was noted for its cultural and educational programs which connect the diverse neighborhood, a resident said. 

“In an era of so much ethnic and cultural strife, this is one of the beacons that unites people across ethnic and cultural lines and allow us to see just how much we really do have in common," a resident, Carol, said when she nominated the library.

Prizes were also given to the Mott Haven, New Lots, Parkchester and Stapleton libraries.

It's the second year the program has honored a local library. In 2013, the Corona Library on 104th Street was also selected for a $20,000 prize.