SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

A coalition of Turkish-American organizations forked over $40,000 yesterday to the Gerritsen Beach library (2808 Gerritsen Avenue) and Gerritsen Beach Elementary School (P.S. 277), institutions that have suffered in the five months since Superstorm Sandy rocked the community.

The donation came from Turkish-American groups, non-profits and businesses, spearheaded by Helping Hands Relief Foundation, Kimse Yokmu, Council of Turkic American Associations, Turkish Cultural Center and the Brooklyn Amity School.

Of the $40,000 donated yesterday, $30,000 is going to the Brooklyn Public Library’s Gerritsen Beach branch, one of two branches in the system that has been unable to reopen due to extensive damage. The checks were handed over during a ceremony in front of the branch. Prior to the ceremony, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke toured the facility, which has been gutted down to bare walls, floors and rafters.

“We believe that Brooklyn Public Library and P.S. 277 are invaluable resources for the community, where people of all ages will benefit tremendously in many different ways,” said Nevzat Yilmaz, president of Helping Hands Relief Foundation. “This is dedicated to building a better future for the children and families of our community, and leaves a footprint for the next generations of Turkish-Americans to take care of community facilities that serve the people.”

Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda Johnson was on-hand to receive the check, delivered by a cadre of Amity School students. She said the library would use the funds in part to rebuild the library with green technology and infrastructure.

P.S. 277 Principal Jeanne Fish said the school would use the funds to install new smartboards and laptops in classrooms.

See this story in photos: Images of the gutted library, and more from the event.

Elected officials and library administrators gathered at the Kings Bay branch of the Brooklyn Public Library last Friday to celebrate the launch of a new laptop loaner program.

The program kicked off in Brooklyn Public Library branches in Kings Bay (3650 Nostrand Avenue) and Kings Highway (2215 Ocean Avenue), where 18 brand new laptops and charging carts are now available thanks to $50,000 in funding allocated by Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein.

“Whether you’re a student using the internet as a research aid or a senior citizen wanting to know your rights, this program will have a positive impact on all library patrons,” said Weinstein in a press release.

The laptops will help busy branches like Kings Bay by allowing people to use the laptops for two hours anywhere in the building – a departure from the policy for current desktop computers, which can only be used for 30 minutes.

Now… we’re on our way over to make sure every browser’s homepage is set to Sheepshead Bites.

Two and a half months after Superstorm Sandy doused the Sheepshead Bay branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, the location reopened to the public yesterday.

The 2636 East 14th Street branch is the first BPL location shuttered by the floodwaters to reopen. When we stopped by yesterday, there was already a short line for computers, and a handful of patrons buzzing about.

“We’re excited – we’re very, very excited – to be back,” said the branch manager Svetlana Negrimovskaya.

Patrons, though, will notice a smaller collection for the first few weeks. That’s because five feet of water inundated the building’s below-street-level nonfiction and reference department, wiping out more than 2,100 books on 80 shelves. The library will be restocked, but they’re waiting to replace a handful of shelving units.

Repairs to the facility carried a $1 million price tag, according to a BPL spokesperson. That includes the water damage to partitions, floor finishes, shelves, collections and equipment.

Besides the library’s three computers for the public, the library also needed to replace brand new self-checkout machines that had been installed only two weeks before Sandy.

The Brighton Beach and Coney Island branches are still closed, requiring more repairs before they can reopen. Brighton Beach is expected to open next.

Here in Sheepshead Bay, though, Negrimovskaya said she’s happy to see her neighbors coming back, and noted that they’ve already continued their events programming. The schedule can be found here. Additionally, the BPL is asking for donations to restore the collection. A monetary donation can be made here.

One of the libraries flooded by Sandy (Photo: Brooklyn Public Library via NYDailyNews.com)

Five Brooklyn Public Library branches, four of which are in Southern Brooklyn, remain closed after taking severe damage during Superstorm Sandy, and library administrators say they need millions to get back online.

New York Daily News checked in with the library, noting that the Gerritsen Beach (2808 Gerritsen Avenue) and Coney Island (1901 Mermaid Avenue) branches took the worst damage, and will need new electrical systems, doors, chairs, shelves and computers. There is no word on when these branches will reopen.

The Gravesend (303 Avenue X), Sheepshead Bay (2636 East 14th Street) and Red Hook (7 Wolcott Street) branches also saw severe damage. Officials told the Daily News these will reopen in the next few weeks.

In all, the repairs will rack up a $10 million price tag, which includes structural repairs and the replacement of 75,852 books, magazines and DVDs ruined during the storm – piling on top of a $250 million list of backlogged repairs throughout the library system.

According to the News, the Brooklyn Public Library typically receives just $15 million a year from the Bloomberg administration for repairs.

“We were hurt,” said Brooklyn Public Library VP of strategic planning Jeanette Moy. “But we are leveraging every asset we have and every partnership that’s possible to bring services back to the community.”

The library is also requesting donations to help restore the library system. You can donate online.

Source: Wikipedia

UPDATE (11/06/2012):  Due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, this sale has been cancelled. The Gerritsen Beach Library is closed until further notice. For more information contact Christine Dille at C.Dille (at) Brooklynpubliclibrary (dot) org.

Attention bibliophiles, booklovers and fans of the written word!

The Friends of Brooklyn Public Library-Gerritsen Beach Branch are inviting voracious, or even light readers to “Make Space in your Bookcase,” now until November 9. The group will be holding its annual book drive at the library,2808 Gerritsen Avenue between Gotham Avenue and Bartlett Place.

After the November 9 book drive, the Gerritsen Beach Library Friends Group will also be hosting its annual book sale, November 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and November 17 and 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You are encouraged to donate your new or  gently used books.

For further information, call (718) 368-1435.

Source: Ian Wilson/Flickr

As a child, you may remember visiting your local Brooklyn Public Library every week on “RIF Day.” You may recall the librarian with the glasses way down upon her nose stamping your “special card” each time you made a visit and showed her you library card. Every three times you made a trip down to the library on the day designated for RIF, you would receive a book free of charge.

Yet, very soon, your children and the next generation will not have the privilege to take part in this literacy nonprofit program. Due to a loss of federal funding, RIF programs at the Brooklyn Public Library are scheduled to end on August 31.

RIF, or “Reading is Fundamental,” the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in America, motivates children to read by presenting them with free books upon their visits to the library. The excitement of earning a new book free of charge excites kids and pushes them to read it. Furthermore, in order to participate in this program, children must visit the library often. Increased visits may push them to take out books and read more than they would have.

Over the past 35 years, the Brooklyn Public Library has given out over 1 million books to children and teenagers through RIF. Ending this program can promote illiteracy, especially amongst those who cannot afford to purchase books, which will be extremely detrimental to the future of the next generation. America cannot afford to fall behind anymore. Statistics currently show that 33 percent of fourth grade public school students are at or below the basic reading level. Putting an end to RIF may even make this worse.

You can help save this wonderful program. Just visit www.rif.org/advocate to urge your federal representative to continue RIF funding. All you have to do is fill out the form, and an automatic email will be sent to your representatives on your behalf. Don’t let RIF disappear!

The new BPL computer checkouts, equipped with shoulder-mounted laser scanner. Caution: Keep away from lighting.

The Homecrest branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (2525 Coney Island Avenue) is debuting new self-checkout service, enabling patrons to check out, renew and return books without the hassle of a face-to-face encounter.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson, as well as other community members and Brooklyn Public Library staff, will be celebrating the initiation of these machines at the library tomorrow, July 24, at 3 p.m.

The Brooklyn delegation of the State Assembly, of which Cymbrowitz is a member, helped acquire a Community Capital Assistant Program grant of $2 million for the Brooklyn Public Library’s self-checkout machines.

Self-checkout machines have already been installed in other local libraries, including the Kings Bay library branch (3650 Nostrand Avenue), and the Bay Ridge library branch.

According to BPL, this technologically advanced service helps library visitors borrow and return books and other items more quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, instead of assisting visitors with checkout and return, the library staff can now spend more time lending a hand to those researching or searching for specific works.

Have fun at the library and get your child ready for school!

Families can enjoy stories and activities designed to encourage the development of early learning skills in their children, every Saturday at 11:00 a.m., now to July 28 (July 7, 14, 21 and 28) at the Gerritsen Beach branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, 2808 Gerritsen Avenue.

Geared toward children ages three to five years-old, and their parents or caregivers, the program will explore literacy, science, and math through music, stories, and play, and will help you and your child get ready for school. Families will also receive free materials to continue the learning and fun at home.

To learn more, call (718) 368-1435.

“Bullet Points” is our new format for Community Board 15 meeting coverage, providing takeaways we think are important. Information in Bullet Points is meant only to be a quick summary, and some issues may be more deeply explored in future articles.

Boardmembers push to beautify Manhattan Beach, oppose aesthetic improvements at Knapp Street sewage plant: Parks Department’s Brooklyn Chief of Staff Martin Maher came before the Board last night to provide the community with updates on ongoing projects in the district – including at Bill Brown Park, Galapo Playground, Brigham Street Park and Emmons Avenue – but the presentation quickly turned to Manhattan Beach as members barraged Maher with questions and complaints (video above).

Continue Reading »

Source: Wikimedia Commons

One hundred and seven years before stodgy ol’ librarians were banning 50 Shades of Grey from public bookshelves, they were banning the great Mark Twain stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. So, naturally, the bondage and wild sex adventures penned by E L James are well on their way to the top of the American literary canon, no?

Well, I don’t know about that.

But I do know that one my favorite websites, Letters of Note, which digs up and publishes letters from notable individuals living and dead, has found a letter that brings us back to that earlier controversy – and ties in a Sheepshead Bay connection, too.

In 1905, Asa Don Dickinson, a librarian at the Sheepshead Bay branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (who established the first blind services in a public library, and later became Brooklyn College’s first chief librarian), wrote to Twain, alerting him to plans underway that would have his books removed from the system’s children’s departments. Dickinson, himself more than a little facetious in his letter, received a few sarcastic words in reply.

Read the letters here.