When a community comes together, by Brian Abate

One of the projects that the now defunct Red Hook Civic Association worked hard on last year was a location for a temporary library to replace the Wolcott Street library which was pretty much demolished in order to update it.

A frustration for those in Red Hook was that the next closest library is in Carroll Gardens and is also closed for renovations. While both were shut down, Red Hook residents had to rely on a Bookmobile (essentially a bus converted into a mini library) until a new temporary location was found.

Last fall the Civic Association released a press release stating: ” The Red Hook Civic Association in its October meeting passed a resolution demanding a temporary library be established in Red Hook, until the new library is completed. “Do the math” said Imre Kovacs of the Association’s Services Committee: “A six year old has a limited time to develop a love of reading. A two to three year span without access to books is unacceptable.” Nahisha McCoy, of Friends of the Library and Red Hook West Tenants association added “The library is the heart of the community. It is a safe space for families, teens and seniors. To take it away is a knife in the heart of our neighborhood.”

Their hard work paid off and last month all involved celebrated the grand opening of a new temporary location at 362 Van Brunt Street.

The space is big enough to provide room for reading, computers for research and an area for the programs that the regular library had been providing. One program is resume help. In August, it will take place on the 1, 15, and 29 at 2 pm, led by librarian Gretchen Alexander.

“Anybody is welcome to come in,” Alexander said. “If they have a resume already, I can edit it and if not, we can work on making one from scratch and work on a cover letter as well. I did this a lot at the original branch and then during the closure, I did this at RHI and at the Justice Center. We get training as adult specialists from the job and career services at the BPL for people with different needs like high school students and those older.”

Alexander said that on average, three people come in each session.

“There’s a big range of people that get help,” she said. “There were a lot of migrants who just arrived in the country as well as some older adults who hadn’t worked for 10-15 years and are looking to go back to work.”

I attended a Flowers + Force workshop led by Alicia Degener, president of the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC.) Degener brought in flowers and showed beginners how to do flower pounding onto bags. She did an excellent job giving advice when necessary while also letting everyone do their own thing.

There were seven people of all different ages in attendance and all of them seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone complimented each other on their work. One attendee said, “Brooklyn has so many surprises and this was the best one so far.”

Degener said that the library used to have “Story Time” events at BWAC and there are both library events and Pioneer Works events at BWAC.

“We do workshops all the time and if you check on BWAC.org, it gives a schedule,” Degener said.

Lots of programs!
Another popular series is “Comic Book Drawing Class With Mr. Nick.” It will be on August 6, 13, and 20 from 3 – 4:30 pm. There will be Kids Create events every Friday in August from 3:30 – 4:30 pm.

There will be a Zine Making event from 3-4 pm on August 12 and August 26. There will be Story and Play events every Friday in August at 11 in the morning. There will also be a Needle Felting Workshop on August 28 from noon to 2 pm.

Opening celebration
Politicians, local leaders, and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the interim library on July 9.

“We are so excited to be here and this has definitely been a journey,” said Alexa Aviles. “Without question, this would not have happened without the community’s advocacy, without going to every potential space. There was a consistent message that we needed an interim space and that a bookshelf on the sidewalk was nice but not adequate.

“This is what democracy looks like. We’ll also be tracking our new library to make sure it’s done on time.”

“This neighborhood realizes that the library is the center of the cultural, educational, and recreational kind of activity of the neighborhood,” said Nick Higgins, chief librarian of the Brooklyn Public Library.
Higgins also said that the renovation at the permanent library is going well and is on track to be finished in 2025,

Brian Abate