Port library construction to begin in August

Sarah Minkewicz

Port Washington Public Library officials said last Wednesday the $1.5 million renovation of the children’s room won’t begin until the end of August. 

“My hope to begin the project in July is probably not going to happen,” Library Director Nancy Curtin said at the board meeting. “We will probably use the summer months for the bidding process.”

Curtin said additional answers to engineering questions have been sent to the New York State Facilities Planning Bureau and the board is still waiting on the final phase of approval from the state to move forward with the project.  

“I wish I can say we’ve received approval but not yet,” Curtin said. 

The project will update the children’s room to allow for updated technology, as well as expanded workshop and reading space, Curtin said.

The room will be renamed the Jackie and Harold Spielman to honor their support for the project.

The project’s cost will be funded by private donations, grants and capital reserves, with no additional burden placed on the taxpayer, Curtin said. 

During construction, materials would be re-located to other areas of the library, officials said. 

Curtin said the library will be moving 80 percent of the materials housed in the children’s room into the media room and the other 20 percent will be packed up in storage and transported to the Nassau library system for storage. 

She added that the same thing will happen to the media collection, in an effort to maintain the space in the library. 

“We’re able to move media into the reading room and we’re experimenting with different shelving up here to see how this is going to work. It’s not quite how we want it yet but it gives us an idea.” Curtin said. 

Library officials estimate the cost of moving the materials at $7,610 and $6,812 to return them.

Library board president Robert Aitken asked why it would be more expensive to move the items than return them. 

Officials said the cost difference is due to the packing materials. 

The children’s room will temporarily relocate to the Media Room, which is on the lower level, directly across from the children’s room. The bulk of the children’s collection will remain available. Children’s programming and events will continue, but officials said they would be somewhat limited due to the reduction in space.

Officials said they expect the project to take approximately nine months to complete.

“We are transforming our building to meet the needs of a community that starves for public space, where everyone is welcome, no one is judged, and each member of the community is free to work, learn, gather interact, be informed, be entertained, or simply relax,” Aitken said.

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