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Officials Push for Expansion of 'Bursting at the Seams' Rego Park Library

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | February 24, 2015 4:07pm
 CB6 is pushing for the expansion of the Rego Park Library.
CB6 is pushing for the expansion of the Rego Park Library.
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DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

QUEENS — Local officials have stepped up their efforts to secure funds for a new building that would replace the old and overcrowded Rego Park library, which they said has been "bursting at the seams," as the local population continues to grow. 

The project is part of the 10-year capital plan the Queens Library submitted to the city earlier this month.

“Close to 700 people go in there on any given day,” said Frank Gulluscio, district manager at Community Board 6, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park. “This branch is bursting at the seams.” 

On Monday, Gulluscio testified on the issue during a public hearing on Queens budget priorities, during which community boards present their most urgent needs.

The library, which was built in 1975, "is very heavily used," said Joanne King, a spokeswoman for the library.

Last year, the branch was 15th in terms of circulation out of 62 branches, lending more than 230,000 items and serving nearly 200,000 people, according to the Queens Library. 

King also said that the branch is approximately 7,500 square feet, while newer libraries are at least 10,000 square feet. 

With support from local Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz and the Queens Borough PresidentCB6 has been pushing for the expansion of the branch for about a decadeGulluscio said. 

Koslowitz, along with the Queens Borough President's office, set aside about $6 million for a larger Rego Park library, she said. 

But King said that much more would be needed to complete the project. 

The library, she said, requested an additional $29 million for the new building in the 10-year capital plan that was submitted to the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget earlier this month.

King said that even if the project is approved, it will take several years to design the new structure and to build it.

Koslowitz noted the need is urgent, because the local population continues to grow, as new immigrants continue to move in and as a number of new developments have been popping up throughout the neighborhood. 

Koslowitz said that she is also talking to developers who construct new buildings in the neighborhood, and asking them to contribute money for the library. 

The local population, Gulluscio noted, has been using the branch for much more than just to borrow books. He said residents go there to use computers and kids from locals schools do their research there.

Gulluscio also said that even if the project is approved, it may not solve the problem entirely.

He said that those who live north of Queens Boulevard, has to cross the notoriously dangerous thoroughfare in order to get to the library, located on 63rd Drive, near Austin Street, south of Queens Boulevard.

“Maybe we have to not only expand [the current building], but maybe put an annex on the other side of Queens Boulevard,” he said.

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.