QUEENS — Rego Park community and elected officials are pushing for expansion of their neighborhood library, which they say is too small to accommodate the growing population in the area.
The current Rego Park branch, at 91-41 63rd Drive, four blocks south of Queens Boulevard, was built in 1975 and is approximately 7,500 square feet. Some of the newer libraries, depending on the size of communities they serve, can be even twice as big, according to the Queens Library.
“There are sometimes food restaurants that are larger than this library,” said Peter Beadle, a Rego Park resident and member of Community Board 6.
Beadle said the branch is used not only by local book lovers, but also by dozens of students who go there every day to do their homework, as well as adults, who seek help writing resumes and job searching.
“That library is always packed,” he said. “It’s a resource for what’s becoming an increasingly diverse population in Rego Park.”
The branch serves nearly 200,000 people a year, lending about 190,000 items, according to the Queens Library.
Frank Gulluscio, district manager at CB6, said the need is dire, as the population keeps growing along with new developments coming to the neighborhood.
“I fight for it every year for 10 years,” said Gullusio, who will testify on the issue during a public hearing on Queens budget priorities on Jan. 25.
But so far the efforts, which have preoccupied the community for years, have been fruitless.
Local elected officials are hoping to find a new space on the other side of Queens Boulevard that could serve as a second branch in the neighborhood.
Michael Cohen, a spokesman for local Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, said the councilwoman is talking to developers who construct new buildings in the neighborhood.
"When the developer mentions that they are willing to do some sort of community facility enhancement Ms. Koslowitz brings up the subject of library," he said.
Among the locations that are being discussed is a space inside the Rego Center Mall, officials said.
Another option is to replace the current 1-story library building with a larger structure, although residents worry that it would leave the neighborhood with no library at all for several years.
“There is high interest in building a new library in Rego Park,” said library spokeswoman Joanne King. “It is a heavily used library and the community has long outgrown the current building.”
King said that as of now $6.35 million has been allocated for the expansion of the Rego Park Library by Koslowitz and the Queens Borough President's office.
But that’s not nearly enough for that purpose, according to King, who added that the library can’t estimate the cost of expansion until a more specific plan is in place.
“This has to be made a priority,” Beadle noted. “It’s great that places like Long Island City are getting beautiful brand new multi-million dollar libraries, but we cannot continue to ignore the needs of this community.”
