NY Post
Books aren’t the only thing being checked out at this Queens library.
The feds are now probing the problem-plagued new library branch in Hunters Point, The Post has learned.
The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn hired an architectural expert to conduct a December survey of the $41.5 million book hub to look for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, new Brooklyn federal court filings in a lawsuit against the library reveal.
An attorney for the city’s Law Department blew the lid off the probe in documents filed for the pending suit, saying they needed more time because they’re still awaiting the investigation’s results.
The decade-in-the-making outpost of the Queens Public Library system was hailed by officials as a “stunning architectural marvel” when it opened in September.
But it has since come under fire for its stacks of design and construction problems — including a three-tiered fiction section, a rooftop garden and a reading space on the children’s floor that are all inaccessible for people who use wheelchairs.
The feds’ investigation was launched around the time a disability advocacy group and a Queens woman with mobility problems sued the library and the city, demanding they fix accessibility issues at the new, 32,000 square-foot branch.
Michelle Caiola of Disability Rights Advocates, which filed the suit, said: “We certainly welcome the US Attorney’s involvement as it brings more pressure to bear on the city to make the library fully accessible as quickly as possible.”
It is unclear what steps the feds will take if they find that the Hunters Point branch
7 comments:
No doubt, one of the biggest kick back schemes in NYC history, will follow the investigation.
I thought the cleaned up that board - enough of this waste!
No need to duplicate services, we need professionals. Clean house - this time do a good job and make it permanent.
Merge into the New York Public Library now!
Just some "Honest Graft" move along sheeple business as usual in NYC !
I'm blind and can't read any of these books. Where's my accommodation?
If library things are bad and Queens residents underserved now wait until NYPL takes over. Just like everything else in NYC, Manhattan will get the lion's share of resources and services and Queens will get screwed. Brooklyn Public Library will never allow a NYPL annexation. Sagen sie nicht zu NYPL anschluss.
Anon re:NYPL
I thought that was already happening. Have you seen the library by the MOMA? It's opulent compared to any Queens library.
Well, if Manhattan gets the lions share of the resources our boys and girls in office in Queens are not doing their work and going to bat for us.
Lets face it - the Board of the QBPL has show again and again gross incompetence. Its time we get one system for the city and find electeds who can actually work to ensure that its run fairly. They seem to have done nothing (except bury the problem) with the current set up.
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