By Andrew Coen
In an effort to provide the library with more space for parking, a driveway entrance and exit as well as an expansion of its programs, Ron Goldman, president of the library's Community Action Committee, has proposed building a new library at the current site of Irving Zion Park. The park, next to the village's Long Island Rail Road station, is named for the former Lawrence mayor.
The current library building, built in the early 1960s, operates with only one narrow driveway on the east side of the building where cars both enter and exit, creating the potential for serious accidents, according to library officials. The facility also has limited parking and is too small to expand certain library services, officials said.
The proposed library would sit on a 43,850-square-foot parcel, which also has a 2,970-square-foot playground. According to Goldman, who is also Lawrence's village attorney, the plan would be to build a new library on 9,000 square feet of space behind the current playground, with the play area remaining intact and possibly being expanded. The new building would have two floors and a basement, bringing the potential size of the facility to a total of around 27,000 square feet, double the size of the current library. The current facility, at 280 Central Ave., totals 13,500 square feet and occupies 5,150 square feet of the lot.
"It would be a state-of-the-art library," said Goldman. "It would be a gem of the Five Towns."
For years, library officials have tried to win approval from the Lawrence school district, which owns the library property, to construct a separate driveway exit on the adjacent Number One School property. School officials cited a State Education Department law that required a certain amount of playground space as the reason they could not grant the land for the exit.
Nine months after the Number One School was closed in June 2004 as part of a consolidation plan to save the district money, the school board granted an easement for the library to construct a separate 12-foot-wide driveway on the west side of the facility that would stretch to the end of the building. But the offer was rejected by library officials, who wanted the driveway to extend to the end of the property, for safety reasons.
"We're very much interested in following up on [Goldman's idea]," said library board president Joseph Fuller. "I'd love to see something like this work out."
Library officials have also pressed to expand the library facility 100 feet by 280 feet onto the former Number One School property. However, this proposal was met with challenges by school officials, since an appraisal determined that the 3.79-acre school property was worth more than they realized, and granting the library the extra space would reduce the amount of money the school district could realize from a future sale of the school.
If the library were to move out of the current location, it would allow the school district to take in even more money from the sale, since it would add an acre to the property. "Because of the future of the Number One School sale, it's important to know that there may be additional land," said Goldman. "They would have an additional acre to sell, and it might increase [the value of] the entire property."
With the park directly next to the Long Island Rail Road station, which village officials described as underutilized, the proposed facility would provide a huge improvement in parking compared with the current library building, according to Goldman. The new location would also have improved traffic flow for patrons, with three different entrances and exits and plenty of room for cars to maneuver, Goldman said.
Goldman said he has contacted both village and library officials as well as local civic leaders about the idea, and the proposal has received praise. He also said that State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) was in favor of the plan, and that Goldman also plans to present the idea to other elected officials, including Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside). Goldman also plans to sit down with officials from School District 15 to discuss the proposal.
"It's time for an expansion and a better environment than the library currently has," said Weisenberg. "The library is the center of the community and benefits everyone, young and old."
"It's an exciting idea that needs further exploring," said Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown.
The Community Action Committee's stated mission is to "assist in the acquisition of appropriate and sufficient space, which will allow the Peninsula Public Library to continue to perform its vital function in our community," and has many local organizations and elected officials as members.
"I think it's a very feasible plan," said Lawrence Building Inspector Dan Herron. "It would be great for the community."
Lawrence Village Trustee Martin Oliner, who lives across the street from the proposed location, said he has no problem with the idea as long as sufficient park space is left. "We have to assure that the integrity of Zion Park is maintained," said Oliner. "The park is an important part of the community."
The location is only a couple of blocks from the current library building, which makes it centrally located for residents from Lawrence, Atlantic Beach, North Lawrence, Inwood, Cedarhurst and portions of Woodmere and North Woodmere, according to Goldman. The facility would also be accessible to those without cars, since it would be within walking distance of many district residents. In addition, a bus route would run past the library and down Central Avenue toward Far Rockaway. The library would also sit next to the train station.
"I think it's a fantastic idea," said Inwood Republican leader Jesse Mistero. "You look at other districts like Hewlett-Woodmere and Oceanside and they have wonderful facilities, and there is no reason why we shouldn't as well."
Goldman is hopeful that funding the move to the new Zion Park site can be made possible with some money from the sale of the current library facility. "I think they would see this as a fair swap," said Goldman. "It would relieve [the school board] of certain pressures."
Goldman added that a new state-of-the-art library would be a plus for District 15, and provide the area with a facility similar to Hewlett-Woodmere's library. "[The library] will come back as an even better institution for the school district," said Goldman. "This is an idea that can be [embraced] by everybody."
Zion Park is not on the village's tax rolls, meaning that a library moving in would not increase taxes for Lawrence residents. Village officials also feel that the library moving next to the train station could increase the number of people who use the station.
Parking for the new facility would be provided by the village's sale of a portion of the current municipal lot used for the train station, depending on how many spaces are needed. Additional parking could also be available from the other unused space at the train station, meaning that no extra parking lot would need to be built, according to Goldman.
In addition to District 15's selling the current library facility, the Village of Lawrence would also need to agree to sell Zion Park to the library for the project to become a reality, according to Herron.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
