Aug 26, 2015 2 min read brooklyn libraries

Local Libraries Benefit From Beep’s Investment Into Brooklyn Cultural Institutions

Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams presented honorary checks to organizations that are helping to build the “Brooklyn brand” throughout the borough. (Photo Credit: Malcolm McDaniel/Brooklyn BP’s Office)

A massive windfall in funds is coming in 2016 to dozens of Brooklyn cultural institutions thanks to an investment of over $8 million in funds from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams — including several public libraries in our area.

Those benefiting include:

The Brooklyn Museum ($1 million)
Brooklyn Botanic Garden ($1 million)
Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM, $500,000)
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA, $500,000)
Brooklyn Children’s Museum ($337,000)
ISSUE Project Room ($281,000)
Weeksville Heritage Center ($189,000)
Gallim Dance Company ($41,000)
BRIC Arts House ($35,000)

The greatest allocation, however, was made to the Brooklyn Public Library, which received $3,225,000 to fund much-needed upgrades to six of the borough’s in-need branches; including $500,000 for second floor renovations to the Coney Island branch, $425,000 for a roof replacement at the Highlawn branch in Gravesend, and $500,000 for an expansion of the Sunset Park location, and $875,000 for an HVAC replacement at the Ulmer Park Library in Gravesend. Investments were also made into Bedford-Stuvvesant’s Saratoga ($425,000) and East New York’s Spring Creek ($500,000) branches.

In addition, the beep has pumped cash into the Brooklyn Historical Society ($50,000), Brooklyn Arts Council ($45,000), Green-Wood Historic Fund ($130,000), St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO ($200,000), Dancewave in Park Slope ($250,000), Prospect Park Zoo ($175,000), New York Aquarium ($500,000), STREB Lab for Action Mechanics in Williamsburg ($250,000), and the Eyebeam art and technology center in Sunset Park ($39,000).

“Culture is what makes Brooklyn; our diversity, our creativity, and our unique blend of lifestyles have birthed a quality-of-life that is second-to-none,” said Adams. “We have to preserve, promote, and produce high-quality cultural experiences to keep us firmly planted as the center of the cultural universe. Investment in cultural institutions and libraries is good for Brooklynites in ways that are not always visible to the naked eye; studies show their positive impact on public health, small businesses, civic engagement, and youth development.”

[Additional reporting by Rachel Silberstein]