Feb. 12, 2015 By Christian Murray
The children’s room at the Broadway Library has reopened and a number of elected officials and school children cut the ribbon Wednesday.
The children’s room has been transformed from a 1950s-looking high school space into a colorful area filled with new furniture, the latest computers and a large open area for children to play. Furthermore, the old dark carpeting has been replaced with colorful patterned squares.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who cut the ribbon, secured $740,000 in city funds in order for the revamp to take place. The construction period lasted five months.
Van Bramer said that the Broadway Library is a “magical place,” and told the children who participated in the ribbon cutting that this was the library his mother took him to when he was a boy.
“I learned to read in the children’s room,” Van Bramer said, adding that the Broadway branch is where he got his first library card and where he discovered his passion for reading.
Logan Ragsdale, the manager of the Broadway library, said that the furniture is lighter and is able to be moved with ease—unlike in the past. He said that children are able to sit on comfortable foam cubes and there is much more space for parents to bring in strollers. There is also a new “Mommy & Me corner.”
The room also has eight computers.
Ragsdale said the space is also a little larger than before since an area where an office was located has been removed.
The library is about to undergo further upgrades, according to Bridget Quinn-Carey, Interim president and CEO of the Queens Library.
“In the near future, we will build a new cyber center to give this community more access to technology, and renovate the lower level and meeting rooms,” Quinn-Carey said.
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$740,000 for this?