A second new library will begin to go up in Bay Ridge this spring, according to plans laid out for a branch at 73rd St. and Ridge Blvd., to replace a 70-year-old building at that site. Last week it was announced that a McKinley Park branch would begin to be built in April.
The Board of Regents approved transfer of library-owned land to the city, which will build the 73rd St. branch. This approval was the last step in legal preliminaries for the new building, which is estimated to cost $609,000. Building should begin in May, say city officials.
Planned for completion in 1959, the building will contain 40,000 books. The Board of Estimate had approved the plans and funds for the new building earlier this year. Bids will be advertised shortly, it is expected. Among the approved funds were $511,00 for construction and $54,000 for books.
The Bay Ridge library will be one of the last city libraries to be built under the capital budget system, whereby the city provides money from the budget. The McKinley Park library is being built under a new system, in which a private builder erects the building to the library’s specifications and then leases the property to the city on a long-term basis.
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(Special thanks to Brooklyn Public Library)
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