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October 27, 2011

Future of 1st Ward Library in Doubt

http://www.thealternativepress.com
Joe Malinconico

Saturday, October 8, 2011

PATERSON, NJ – For more than a month, the doors have been closed at Paterson’s library branch on N. Main Street.

The building took a beating from the Hurricane Irene flooding. More than 8,000 books – or about three-quarters of its collection – were destroyed, officials said. Floodwaters ruined the furniture and badly damaged the heating system. Inspectors have yet to determine if the structure remains sound.

In fact, library officials are not sure whether they will ever reopen the N. Main Street branch.

“Right now, we’re kind of in a holding pattern,’’ said library director Cynthia Czesak. “We’re waiting to find out if the building will be inhabitable.’’

Even if the building is deemed safe, officials are not sure they want to move back in. The library gets damaged almost every time the Passaic River overflows its banks, and the tab for the repairs keeps growing, officials said. “It doesn’t seem to be the best use of our money,’’ said Czesak.

The city is considering relocating the library to somewhere else in the area.

“I would definitely be against,’’ not having a library in the 1st Ward, said Council President Anthony Davis, who represents that part of the city.

“We’re committed to trying to continue library services in the 1st Ward because the community there has been vocal about it,’’ said Czesak.

Besides finding an alternate site in the 1st Ward, officials also have to decide what type of services the neighborhood branch ought to provide, Czesak said. For example, if the community wants a library that specializes in children’s services, that might require a different type of building than one would accommodate a library emphasizing technology, like computer access, she said. Library officials say they may hold some neighborhood meetings to get a better sense of the community’s needs.

Paterson’s library system underwent significant reductions in the 1990s, when four branches were closed for budget reasons, officials. That left the city with the main library on Broadway and three branches – Main Street in South Paterson in the 6th Ward, the Totowa branch on Union Avenue in the 2nd Ward and the on N. Main branch in the 1st Ward.

The library board recently acquired a used Bookmobile from the city of Passaic at a nominal fee. The vehicle needed some repairs, but the problems at the No. Main Street branch have nudged officials along in getting the Bookmobile in working order. The Bookmobile may serve as an interim branch in the 1st Ward until the city comes up with a plan for what to do about the flood-damaged building, officials said.

Meanwhile, city education officials are not sure when – and whether - they will be able to reopen School No. 4, also known as the Rev. Dr. Frank Napier School, which was also severely damaged in the flooding. Students have been scattered at three different facilities as an interim measure – kindergarten through sixth grades at St. Mary’s on Sherman Avenue, seventh and eighth grades to 137 Ellison Street and special education students to School No. 28.

The earliest School 4 would reopen seems to be January, officials said.

Posted by tumulty at October 27, 2011 5:56 PM

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