The city of Brooklyn on Wednesday morning celebrated the grand opening of the long-awaited Brooklyn Public Library, which houses affordable housing on top of the building.
The grand opening comes nearly five years after the city first broke ground on the Sunset Park branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Spanning 21,000 square feet, the library's most unique feature is 49 units of affordable housing located on the top floor of the building-the first of its kind in the city.
Of the 49 new affordable housing units, the city set aside nine for families coming out of Brooklyn's shelter system, which offers shelter for households in need of short-term stays. The 40 remaining units were set aside for residents earning between 30% and 80% of the median income in the area.
"The affordable housing crisis we are in has solutions," Fifth Avenue Committee's Executive Director, Michelle de la Uz, said during the grand opening. "It comes down to two things: political will and investment."
The housing units, which are being rented out for $500 to $1,000 a month, feature studios through three bedrooms. Residents have already moved in last year after being selected in a highly competitive lottery with over 60,000 applicants.
Apart from housing, residents of the affordable units are also granted access to a wide range of library resources, including computer access, career help, homework assistance, and community programs.
Who Funded the Project?
The Brooklyn Public Library's affordable housing units are part of its partnership with the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) and New York State Home and Community Renewal (HCR). Project costs for renovating the library were $17 million, while building the residential units cost $36.7 million. Part of the funding came from the library's $52 million property sale.
The project came more than five decades after the Brooklyn Public Library's last rebuild. Prior to the renovation, the library only had 12 electrical outlets and 7,500 square feet available to the public.
While the Brooklyn Public Library is the first to combine affordable housing and libraries in New York, similar projects are already underway in different cities, including Boston and Chicago.
