Queens Library officials responded that librarians could simply retrieve those books for disabled patrons, a solution in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and noted that the first of the four terraces did have elevator access.īut on social media and among advocates for the disabled, that rationale got panned. A few complained that they couldn’t access the fiction books, because those levels were only accessible by stairs, Gothamist reported. The placement of the adult fiction section on three terracelike levels between the library’s first and second floors was the first issue patrons noticed.
Some of the accessibility problems, though, are rooted in the design itself. So are architecture buffs, eager to see a structure that a New York Times review praised as “among the finest and most uplifting public buildings New York has produced so far this century.” New Yorkers - as well as tourists - are visiting the library, the most expensive Queens Public Library branch ever built, to admire the views. Some of the issues are a result of the building’s popularity. It has also raised the question of how the pricey public building, nearly two decades in the works, made it through the lengthy planning process without more consideration for accessibility. 24 opening, have left officials with the Queens Public Library hurrying to find solutions and the architects exploring ways to retrofit the building. The accessibility issues, some of which have been angrily called out in social media posts and elsewhere online since the library’s Sept.
And the five-story, vertically designed building only has one elevator, creating bottlenecks at times. A staircase and bleacher seating in the children’s section, judged too risky for small children, has been closed off. It has been heralded as an architectural triumph: A new $41.5 million public library in Long Island City that ascends over multiple landings and terraces, providing stunning Manhattan views to patrons as they browse books and explore.īut several of the terraces at the Hunters Point Library are inaccessible to people who cannot climb to them.
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