Crown Heights Library Breaks Ground on $36M Glass-and-Limestone Makeover

Crown Heights' Eastern Parkway Library, a Carnegie-era landmark that has served the neighborhood since 1914, has officially broken ground on a $36 million renovation and expansion that will grow its public space by more than 50 percent. City officials gathered to mark the start of construction on the two-story library, which features a limestone façade, long arched windows and double-height reading rooms with mezzanines overlooking the lower floor. The project is expected to wrap up in summer 2028.

As reported by Brooklyn Paper, the renovation will make the historic branch fully ADA-compliant, adding an elevator, entrance ramps and upgraded plumbing, HVAC and fire alarm systems. New York City Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Paul A. Ochoa, who announced the project's start alongside other officials, said the work is upgrading the interior, making the building fully ADA-compliant and expanding public space by more than 50 percent. Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson also announced the project's start, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani said libraries deserve spaces that meet the needs of New York City today.

What's Changing Inside and Out

The redesigned library will preserve the branch's historic architecture while adding a large glass façade, more natural light and a green courtyard with outdoor seating. Plans call for a third-floor reading terrace surrounded by greenery, energy-efficient lighting and modern technology woven throughout the building. The project is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification, a designation that recognizes energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable design.

Inside, the redesigned library will include a main reading room, a community room, a multipurpose room with a projector, a teen zone, two children's zones and a S.T.E.A.M. room. A classroom will be built into the restored fireplace room, and the overall layout will carve out dedicated spaces for reading, learning, community programs and areas built specifically for kids, teens and families. Brooklyn-based artist Oasa DuVerney will have site-specific artwork titled “What Do I See Except Myself” incorporated throughout the library, with support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs' Percent for Art program.

A Pop-Up Bridges the Gap

To keep services running during the roughly two-year closure, a temporary pop-up library is expected to open this fall, backed by the Settlement Housing Fund, which will provide the space in the neighborhood. IKEA donated furnishings for the temporary location, and Amazon is providing additional support for interim library services. Johnson said the temporary library will keep vital services accessible during construction, allowing patrons to check out books, access technology and participate in programs while the main branch is closed.

That approach mirrors how Brooklyn Public Library kept services running during other major branch closures, including a similar pop-up arrangement Hoodline covered when it served Carroll Gardens during renovations. Brooklyn Public Library has used the same playbook elsewhere in the borough this year, too, having shut down its Bushwick branch in June for a two-year renovation of its own.

Decades in the Making

Designed by architect Raymond F. Almirall, the Classical Revival library originally opened on July 7, 1914, and the current renovation follows decades of smaller-scale work, including interior updates in 1951, 1969 and 1975, and a roof and limestone masonry restoration the city's Department of Design and Construction completed in April 2016. The branch is one of 18 surviving Carnegie libraries out of 21 originally built across Brooklyn following Andrew Carnegie's $5.2 million gift to New York City in 1901, according to Urban Omnibus.

The Eastern Parkway branch has long served a Crown Heights community that shifted from a predominantly Jewish population to a major West Indian and African-American population starting in the 1950s, and it has consistently ranked among the busiest branches in the Brooklyn Public Library system, with children ages 5 to 12 forming its largest patron group, per the library's own historical records. Because Eastern Parkway itself was designated a New York City Scenic Landmark in 1978 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as the world's first parkway, any exterior changes to the library required design approval from the NYC Public Design Commission, according to the Historic Districts Council.

The Department of Design and Construction selected Portland- and New York-based firm Allied Works Architecture, along with Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects, to design the glass addition and courtyard expansion, a pairing that later won a NYC Public Design Commission Excellence in Design Award for blending contemporary glass architecture with the building's historic limestone structure, as reported by Untapped New York. The library's LEED Silver goal also lines up with New York City's broader mandate to cut greenhouse gas emissions from municipal buildings by 80 percent by 2050 while boosting resilience against extreme weather.