Brower Park Library - Development Opportunity?

pierpont

There was an article that ran in the NY Times in November 2006 that was about building affordable rent stabilized housing on top of underbuilt libraries. The library featured in the article's photograph was none other than our very own Brower Park branch library. Check it out:

http://www.lisc.org/docs/inthenews/2006_nytimes_libraries.pdf

The reason I bring up a 10-month old article here is that ever since it ran a thought has been slowly gestating in the back of my head. I believe that libraries are right up there with parks and bus stops as a crucial neighborhood amenity, and I am very happy to be living literally next door to the Brower Park branch.

I am concerned, however, that the fact that this library is located in the middle of a primarily residential block discourages library patronage and results in underinvestment from the BPL system. Generally I worry that it is underutilized and is not providing as much benefit to the neighborhood as it could be.

Now, two blocks west of the Brower Park branch, there is a building on the north side of St Marks Avenue between Bedford and Rogers Avenue (on that somewhat triangular block) that is (1) eye-catching and potentially beutiful, and (2) in a serious state of disrepair. It looks like the Washington Temple Church of God (the church on Bedford and Bergen) bought this property several decades ago and has not done much of anything with it short of erecting a sidewalk shed.

So here's the idea: renovate the Washington Temple property as a new library, and turn the current Brower Park branch into an affordable, rent stabilized residential building or co-op. The Washington Temple property is just what you would want in a library - a high-profile building in a central location a short walk from where it is now. And the property where the current Brower Park branch sits may provide more benefit to the community as affordable housing than as an under-used library (incidentally, it looks like BPL does not own this property but has it on a long term lease from some Westchester family).

Just how to make something like this happen, I have no clue. It may very well be just a dream, but I am happy to share it with everyone, and would welcome any thoughts or comments on it, or on the library in general.