By:Jerry Burke
Does Elmont want a new library? You bet it does.
Both issues on the Jan. 21 referendum passed by overwhelming margins. Issue 1, which asked voters in the Sewanhaka High School District to vote on the sale of 3.745 acres of the 21-acre Alva T. Stanforth Junior High School site to the Elmont School District for $2,146,000, passed by a vote of 2,149 in favor, 580 opposed. The vote represented a 79 percent approval rating.
Issue 2, which then asked voters in the Elmont School District to consider a $14.5 million bond for the purchase of the land and construction of a new 56,400-square-foot library and 208-car parking lot, was also approved by a wide margin, with 1,026 votes in favor, 413 opposed. Seventy-one percent of voters gave their approval.
"We were literally jumping up and down the next day when we found out," said library Administrative Assistant Sheila Seward. "We were flooded with calls and people in the community rallying around us. We were kind of shell-shocked."
The passage of the referendums serves a dual purpose, said Elmont Library Board President Brian Lynn. "People in Elmont have had to stare at that disgusting building for almost 20 years," Lynn said at a public information hearing days before the vote. "They have a choice: stare at it for another 20 years or tear it down and use it for something useful."
It appears the choice has been made. "It's the best thing for everyone," said one voter outside Clara H. Carson school who did not want to be identified. "My mother uses it all the time, and so do my kids. They need the computers because we don't have one."
Expanded computer access for residents was just the tip of the iceberg for the ambitious plan. Under the direction of architect Angelo Corvo, it calls for the Stanforth building's auditorium to be salvaged and converted into the new library's 475-seat theater, complete with a stage. Also planned are a 40 percent increase in children's services, a special Young Adults section and a seniors' liaison office that would be geared solely toward senior programs.
"This is great news for the community at large," said Assemblyman Tom Alfano, a big supporter of the effort. "It's my hope that this new library will generate new business development, community pride as well as being a center for learning and growing."
"I grew up in this area and remembered losing community institutions like the Argo Theater," said library director Janis Schoen. "But thanks to the foresight and vision of this community, this opportunity will not be going away."
The current library building, said Schoen, has been in use for 35 years and is filled to capacity. The new building will not only allow for an increase in book collection, computers and meeting space (a 79 percent increase over the current building) but would allow for possible future expansion should it be required.
"We live in a community where over 72 languages are spoken and people from over 100 countries live," said Schoen. "All of us came together and said, 'We want this.' They showed how much they believe in themselves."
Once the Sewanhaka High School District Board approved the proposal to sell 3.75 acres of the Stanforth Junior High property to the Elmont School District last year, the plan to knock down most of the existing building and use the property to benefit the community was set in motion. "It is so great working with a board that fought so hard for this," said Schoen.
"Taxpayers in the Sewanhaka district have had to pay for the upkeep of a building we don't even use," said Lynn. "If the referendum didn't pass, they were going to tear it down anyway, and we would have had to pay for that as well."
Sewanhaka voters outside of Elmont agreed, finally casting off the unused building by voting for the sale with a 1050 to 146 margin. "I think they just said 'Take my land, please!'" joked Schoen. Franklin Square voters approved the sale by a 291 to 40 vote.
According to the Library Board, the cost to the average Elmont household (assessed at $2,523) would come out to $58.15 per year. "At $1.12, that's a cup of coffee a week," said Lynn.
"Another great part about the plan," said project business manager Frank Marino, "is that we're projecting only a 10 percent increase in operational cost once the new library opens." Lynn said that the size of the staff would only need to increase by four -- one full-time worker and three part-timers -- and that the newer, more efficient technology available with a new building will help keep utilities under control.
Because the Elmont School District would own the property, the auditorium would be open and available to the public longer than the operating hours. The site's remaining acreage would continued to be used by the Sewanhaka district as athletic fields. With the passage of the bond, the district will now move ahead with building an additional soccer field where most of the building now stands, as well as a separate but connected 70-space lot.
"The Hempstead Turnpike corridor got its best news it's had in 10 years," said Alfano. "A new library will be a community focal point for renewal."
The old building would still be owned by the school district and could be sold, rented out or leased at the district's discretion.
Construction will begin in January 2005, and is scheduled to be complete 14 months later, in March 2006.
