BPC Library Designs Presented to CB1

By Nick Pinto
POSTED OCTOBER 1, 2007

Architects unveiled designs last month for the new Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library, to be housed in a 32-story residential building rising at Murray Street and North End Avenue.

The design, presented to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City  Committee by Juergen Riehm, a principal of 1100: Architect, shows high, angular ceilings, and large expanses of windows to maximize natural light.

The front part of the library will be for children, with a rear section for adults and young adults. Upstairs, patrons can sit and read in an area that will also be available for lectures and events. On that second level, doors will open onto a small terrace overlooking Teardrop Park. There will be 26 computers located throughout the library.

The library, along with two other non-profit institutions—Poets House and the World Hunger Action Center—will occupy most of the first and second floors of Riverhouse, Two River Terrace. Each pays a rent of $1 per year but must raise the money to build out their space.

Residents have long sought a library in their neighborhood—until now the nearest public library branch has been the New Amsterdam branch on Murray Street in Tribeca.

Riehm said his team had to work within tight constraints in designing the space.

At 10,000 square feet, the library will be larger than the New Amsterdam branch, but the architect noted that meeting the architectural and space needs of the library and the desires of the building planners hasn’t been easy. A driveway into an underground garage cuts into the space, nearly pinching it in half.

“We worked very hard with the developer and their architects to make the most of the library space,” Riehm said.

Mary Francis Cooper, deputy director for public services for branch libraries, told the committee that in keeping with a trend throughout the city’s library system, the library will house less shelf space and fewer books than libraries have had in the past. “We’re finding that people love to order their books online and have them delivered to their branch library,” she said.

Committee Chairwoman Linda Belfer expressed disappointment that the library will not be large enough to host gatherings like a community board meeting, but Cooper said the library is doing the best it can with the facilities that are available.

“We weren’t given a blank slate—we were given a space to work with,” Cooper said.

The library construction has been partially funded by a $3.5 million donation by Goldman Sachs, which is building a new headquarters nearby. City Councilman Alan Gerson has pledged to find the remaining funding for the construction in the city budget.

Tammy To, Gerson’s chief of staff, told the committee that the library has Gerson’s full support and that he intends to secure city funding for its completion in the next few months.

“He wants to have a ribbon-cutting before his term ends,” To said.

Construction on the library space will begin in February, when the lower floors of the building are structurally complete. The library is expected to open about 18 months later.

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