New York Construction Report staff writer
Construction is underway on a new 25,000-square-foot library in Brooklyn’s East New York neighbourhood, with a ceremony acknowledging the history of the site as a burial ground for members of the area’s Black community.
Gilbane, which is constructing the four-story New Lots Library, joined the Brooklyn Public Library and the East New York African Burial Ground Collective for a ground acknowledgment ceremony to honour those buried at the site.
The property is part of African Burial Ground Square, a once-unrecognized burial ground that was officially designated in 2013 following decades of advocacy by community leaders.
The new library, designed by Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS) and Marble Fairbanks Architects, will incorporate elements recognizing the site’s history while providing space for education, cultural programming and community activities.
A central architectural feature draws inspiration from the palaver, a traditional gathering place in African communities where people meet for dialogue and storytelling, often beneath a tree. The mass timber structure will be visible throughout the library’s reading rooms, collection areas and meeting spaces.
The acknowledgment ceremony included symbolic handwashing, an ancestral altar, an invocation, drumming and songs. Participants also signed ceremonial timber blocks that will be used in the library’s construction, adding messages about their hopes for the building’s future.
The four-story facility will include separate areas for children, teens and adults, flexible meeting rooms, outdoor reading and reflection spaces, a music room and exhibition areas.
It will also house the New Lots Adult Learning Center, which offers literacy programs, high school equivalency preparation and citizenship classes. Improved accessibility is another component of the project.
Ryan Quinn, market sector leader at Gilbane Building, said the project combines the creation of a new community facility with recognition of the site’s history.
The Brooklyn Public Library project is part of a broader effort to modernize branch facilities and address aging infrastructure across the borough.
The library has received more than $4.5 million in government grants announced by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Deputy Leader Chris Banks and state Sen. Roxanne Persaud. The New York State Council on the Arts is providing an additional $5 million in capital project funding, with support from the governor’s office and state Legislature.
