Residents of the Hunters Point section of Long Island City will have to wait longer for their public library — perhaps several years.
Groundbreaking for the 21,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art waterfront library was supposed to take place last summer with completion scheduled for 2015, but now the entire project is in limbo.
In a letter to Friends of Queens Library at Hunters Point, Thomas Galante, the beleaguered president and CEO of Queens Library, wrote that the building project was vastly under-budget at $28.6 million with a construction budget of just $23 million. When construction bids came in, they ranged from $33 million to $42 million.
Galante wrote of “the overall complexity of the design and several unique, difficult to source, or expensive to procure, interior and design features.” Celebrity architect Steven Holl’s plans were too elaborate, with features that included a rooftop terrace, gardens and a gallery, he said. If and when the library is built on the parcel of land at Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue, next to Gantry Plaza State Park, it will not resemble the original plans.
In the letter, Galante said there would be significant design changes. Gone is the Geothermal Well system in favor of a more traditional heating and cooling system. The aluminum exterior facade will now be cement and glass and custom interior fixtures are replaced with standard fixtures. In all, the changes save $4.7 million.
The entire project will be open to rebids by “a new and more extensive list of contractors,” Galante wrote.
15 comments:
Ask the contractor who's putting up those ugly oversized
houses in Forest Hills near the Grand Central Parkway.
I'm sure they'll do the job for cheap and the LIC library would be the talk of the town.
That looks so bad....
Where the heck are the windows?
"This is the year!"
"This is the year!"
The entire project will be open to rebids by “a new and more extensive list of contractors,” Galante wrote.
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The library board of developers have little regard for the purpose of the library but are big on the capital end of the equation.
If you look at its roster (not easy since for obvious reasons they don't publish it) you would see a whos-who of the uncouth design challenged ce-ment splatters of Queens.
Time to investigate this uniquely Queens institution top to bottom and get some directors who understand the real purpose behind libraries.
Its capital budget is a scandal.
with features that included a rooftop terrace
Alright, an outdoor smoking deck for everyone rather than just for Galante!
But, seriously, these "hard to source" and custom pieces are so unnecessary. At my place, they installed very special pendant lighting, and each bulb costs about $140 - and, of course, there's no budget to replace the bulbs when they burn out.
Its capital budget is a scandal.
Its board is a scandal. Time to toss out old books.
I bet Jimmy - who may be investigated with the rest of the library clique, wants to put the kibosh on this project.
We know how he goes ape-shit when something impacts the trust-fund babies in Hunters Point (sorry, the campaign donor developers) and he is surprisingly quiet here.
Something is up.
Probe further boys!
Where the heck are the windows?
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To be honest, you don't want many windows in a Library. direct sunlight damages the books.
Ok. Tinted windows then. Like those at the world famous NY Public Library.
Jimmy. When you worked at the library, what did you actually do? Acquisitions? Security? Maintenance?
Did you shush the kids?
Pretty sure that when JVB worked for the library, he was their political liaison in the public relations/gov't affairs office.
Interesting article in today's Daily News linking Galante, the library's main builder Frank Marino, and the Elmont school district where they both "moonlight". Keep digging, Juan Gonzalez, until the light of day (and prying eyes) forces these clowns out.
This is a horrible design for a library. Gross. You tell them Queens Crap hopefully it gets built a lot less ugly. Btw Brownstoner Queens is upset that this isn't being built. What an imbecile writer they have working for them.
http://queens.brownstoner.com/2014/02/the-hunters-point-library-design-will-change-dramatically/?ic_source=icma
Libraries are being turned into internet cafes slash daycare centers. Some don't even have books but movie DVDs.
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