Possible Temporary Location for Library at the Church, by Brian Abate

With both the Red Hook Library and Carroll Gardens Library closed for renovations, the search is on for a temporary library location in Red Hook.

Imre Kovacs, a Red Hook resident, and one of the leaders of the new Civic Association stepped up and found a possible location at Red Hook Pentecostal Holiness Church. The church is located at 110 Wolcott St., just off Van Brunt St. The church is also a possible location for a market.

“At first I thought wheelchair accessibility wouldn’t be possible here, but then it dawned on me that we could put in a ramp,” Kovacs said. “The library needs a location and we’re taking the first step toward seeing if this can work.”

Kovacs tried reaching out to librarian Joyce Kowpak to join us on a tour of the church but was not able to get in touch with her. Ricardo Razuri from the Record Shop, located at 360 Van Brunt St., and Matias Kalwill, a leader from the Civic Association were able to join us, along with Reverend Donald Gray.

“I’m a member of the Red Hook Business Alliance, and we’ve been looking for a space where we can bring makers together on the weekends,” Kalwill said.

There is a nice outdoor backyard with grass behind the church where people could potentially gather, especially while the weather is nice this summer. While we were there, folks were working to trim down the branches of a large tree. One of the key factors in determining if the space is appropriate is making sure there aren’t any safety issues with the tree. The plan is to consult with an arborist.

“The church is here to help and I’m here to help,” said Gray. “The next step is getting some details about things that would work for the library and the market. Let’s put it together and see if it’s workable. We know we have to reach the community and we are always looking for new ideas. We want this to be a place where people from the community can have good, clean, family fun.”

The next step is for leaders from the Civic Association to put together one-page reports for both the library and the market.

“I have a friend who’s an architect and wanted to put a building in the space in the back, but I wanted to keep the space,” Gray said. “I wanted to keep it as a community space.”

We also discussed the importance of having a temporary location for a library in the neighborhood.

“It’s so important for kids to have a space where they can go and research and learn once they have an idea,” Razuri said. “There are families who don’t have easy access to the internet and they have to rely on libraries. It makes a huge difference for them.”

“What would be nice about having the library here, is it puts it right in the community,” Kovacs said. “It would truly be a community library.”