Reopening is planned for spring, 2010.
The foundation and exterior work is nearly complete, but, according to Council Member Vincent Gentile, there is termite damage to the interior and foundation that will drive up costs and delay completion.
The job site has been picketed for the past several weeks by members of the New York District Council of Carpenters, who are protesting the Brooklyn Public Library's use of non-union labor at the site.
The project is funded through a $3.36 million grant from the New York City Council.
To me, spending public money on non-union labor is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The contractor lowballs the bid, hires cheap non-union labor and pockets the difference, leaving it to the taxpayers to come up with the public benefits, like Medicaid, food stamps, public assistance and public housing, that his low-wage workers need to sustain themselves and their families. Union workers can earn enough to pay their own way, which ultimately saves the taxpayers money.
I wonder if the contractor is paying his crew the Prevailing Wage mandated by the city's Living Wage Law?
The architect is Vincent Benic.
The library has been closed by the project for nearly a year.
The Fort Hamilton Branch, which opened in 1905, was one of 21 Brooklyn Public Library branches built with a $1.6 million gift from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
The article from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=26129
More from the Brooklyn Paper:
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/6/32_6_bm_ridge_library.html
The New York Times was there when the library's cornerstone was laid in 1896:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806EED71730E033A25756C0A9619C94679ED7CF
