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New York Public Library Seeks New Lights for 100th Birthday

By DNAinfo Staff on June 30, 2010 10:58am  | Updated on June 30, 2010 10:59am

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — The New York Public Library's historic Midtown branch has brand new exterior lights on its 100th birthday wish list.

To celebrate its centennial next May, library officials are hoping to dramatically brighten the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street — and its famed lions — with $3 million in new exterior lights. It would be the final stage in a massive restoration project currently underway.

"The new lighting will make this great architectural treasure and cultural icon visible night and day," library officials said in a statement.

The plan calls for the installation of 14 new fixtures around the iconic building. Some will be installed in the ground and others mounted on tapered poles that will circle the site. Lights will also be added to the building's handrails as well as its fountains.

The facade of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, with one of its iconic lions.
The facade of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, with one of its iconic lions.
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Flickr/melanzane

New York Public Library Public Relations Manager Angela Montefinise said that once the lights are installed, the library's glow will rival other landmarks across the city.

But because the building is an official historical landmark, the plan needs to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Committee before it goes forward. A hearing is expected mid-July.

Already, people who frequent the area are looking forward to the extra lighting, which would be paid for through private donations.

"I think it's a very good idea," said Christopher Meadows, 28, a security director from the Bronx who works nearby and frequently hangs out on the library's steps. "It'll make the library stand out more to the community."

The new lighting will also benefit next-door Bryant Park, making it brighter and improving safety, said Dan Biederman, president of the Bryant Park Management Corporation.

But Alex Pecor, 29, a TV producer who passes by the library on his way home from work in Times Square, is skeptical.

"I think that if the lighting can remain ambient and unobtrusive, that sounds like a good idea," he said. "I just don’t want it turn into a theme park. We have enough of that now, especially in Midtown."

Some Members of Community Board 5, which reviewed the plan earlier this month, also raised concerns that the lights might be too bright, but their main point of contention was the library's effort to shine lights directly on the stones that display Stephen A. Schwarzman's name.

The library was renamed in the Wall Street financier's honor after he made a $100 million donation, the New York Times reported at the time.

While the board approved the majority of the plan, it added a non-binding condition barring lighting most of the name stones. The board has previously dismissed the carvings as "unnecessarily intrusive to this iconic facade."