Assemblywoman and candidate for Bronx borough president, Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) announced the allocation of $10,000 in funding to each of four local libraries in the 80th Assembly District, on Thursday, June 10, during a press conference held outside Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library, located at 2147 Barnes Avenue in The Bronx. The other three beneficiaries are Morris Park Library, Allerton Library, and Mosholu Library, located at East 205th Street in Norwood.

 

Speaking at the event, Fernández said libraries were the cornerstones of healthy communities. “They are safe havens for so many people, and provide many valuable resources beyond just books,” the assemblywoman said. “As our communities start coming back after this pandemic we need to ensure that our libraries are more equipped than ever to continue servicing our communities. I am proud to be able to provide this funding to help bring our libraries back.”

 

Present for the ceremony was, among others, Gesille Dixon, borough director of the Bronx Neighborhood Library Networks at The New York Public Library (NYPL), who thanked Fernández for what she referred to as her continued support of Bronx libraries. “The New York Public Library is eager to continue to welcome patrons back to our branches and embrace a new chapter of service,” Dixon said.

 

“The pandemic has made it all too clear that New Yorkers need their libraries more than ever and we look forward to a summer of renewal,” She added that the “generous” funding support would help the four libraries provide even more essential programs and services to the community. The four libraries were awarded the funding through a program passed in this year’s State budget for targeted aid via education funding, referred to as ‘Bullet Aid’. The money will go to various programs within each library.

 

In addition to the usual services they provide, public libraries were also a critical resource for the community during last year’s  census, the first to be completed electronically. A September 2017 report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who is currently running for mayor, found that about just under a third of New York City’s residents (around 29 percent) did not have reliable access to the internet at home. This raised concerns, both at City Hall and in Albany, that New Yorkers would, once again, be undercounted in the census due to not having adequate internet access to complete it online.

 

In fact, New York State has typically undercounted its population during each decennial census which has implications when it comes to both federal funding and public representation. Following the latest redistricting after the 2020 census was completed, the State lost a congressional seat by a count of just 89 people, the narrowest of margins.

 

The City’s census bureau worked with NYPL to ensure residents were aware they could use public library services to complete the census, and additional funding was allocated to public libraries to purchase the necessary work station devices ahead of the census deadline, which, in the end, was extended due to the pandemic. Library staff also assisted New Yorkers with interpretation / translation services, where needed, in order to complete the census.

 

The crisis, coupled with the pandemic, and the sudden need for widespread wifi access, due to the fact that both adults and children had to work and study at home, appeared to focus the minds of elected officials on the crucial and urgent need to upgrade the City’s wifi access for all residents, irrespective of their zip code.

 

In January, as reported, House New York Inc., the educational philanthropic arm of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) launched a PILOT program to repurpose underutilized community and common spaces in two Bronx affordable residences for educational use. Under the program, the two spaces are being used as safe and staffed learning environments for students who might not otherwise have access to reliable WiFi during the hybrid learning phase.

 

In the meantime, the Bronx Digital Equity Coalition has circulated a flyer about an Emergency Broadband Benefit program which representatives say offers residents a discount of up to 50 percent per month on home internet services. The Bronx Equity Coalition is affiliated with The Bronx Community Relief Effort, and The Bronx Community Foundation which provide resources to vulnerable Bronx residents, businesses, and nonprofits which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As previously reported by Norwood News, Mosholu Library typically offers programs during the summer months to help kids stay on top of what they’ve learned in school and avoid the so-called summer slide. The absence of such programs last year coupled with the difficulty of adapting to remote learning has impacted the chances of educational advancement for many Bronx kids, and has led to some national nonprofits offering alternative, educational programs for free, this summer.

 

In efforts to help young adults, as reported, New York City will pay youth from designated city areas $1,200 to take online courses this summer, following the success of the NeON Summer initiative which was launched in 2020. Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced the 2021 initiative will enroll 2,700 youth in six weeks of online instruction. It is hoped the program will help the city’s youth build skills, focus their career goals and express their creativity.

 

Meanwhile, in other library news, as recently reported by Norwood News, a public hearing was held on May 18, in line with the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), on the City’s proposal to convert the Old Fordham Library building, located at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue, in Fordham Manor, into a Community Technical Assistance Center (CTAC).

 

According to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) the location would be used as a computer-based testing and application center, to facilitate more opportunities for a wider number of local candidates to apply for City jobs. A motion to issue a letter of non-objection to the proposal from Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) was passed during the May General CB7 Board meeting, held May 25.

 

On May 10, NYPL announced the expansion of its library services, which had been curtailed for most of last year and for the early part of 2021. Effective Monday, May 10, some branches started to allow limited browsing and desktop computer use under Phase 2 of NYPL’s reopening plan. In the Bronx, the branches that have reopened under Phase 2 include Allerton, Baychester, Belmont, Edenwald, Francis Martin, Highbridge, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Parkchester, Van Cortlandt, West Farms and Woodstock.

 

On June 7, library officials informed Bronx Community Board 8, “We have moved up our timeline to reopen an additional group of branches on June 14.” This includes the Wakefield branch of NYPL. Officials continued, “We are additionally happy to announce that we plan to restore full service at all of our locations by mid-July. This will include the full complement of services such as general space use, programs, and classes incrementally re-instituted as quickly as circumstances allow.”

 

They added, “In the coming months, we also plan to introduce outdoor programming, a robust summer reading initiative, and exhibits at some of our research locations. As noted, the branches opening on June 14 are in addition to those branches that are already open. For a list of those locations that are open in your district, please visit our website, www.nypl.org.”