The New York Public Library: The Fight to Preserve an Historic Landmark & Research Facility
A4J worked to stop The New York Public Library from proceeding with the demolition of part of its Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at 42nd Street (also known as the Central Library) and to bar city officials from providing funding the renovation, which was estimated to cost over $300 million.
The planned renovation of the Central Library was scheduled to begin in 2015 and be completed in 2018. The renovation would gut seven levels of stacks that have, until recently, held millions of volumes from the library’s research collection. These stacks bear the weight of the NYPL ‘s famed Rose Main Reading Room. The Schwarzman Building is itself a historic landmark, and it sits adjacent to Bryant Park, also a landmark.
On behalf of several well-known individual plaintiffs, Advocates for Justice brought a lawsuit against the NYPL, several large foundations and various City entities seeking an injunction preventing the destruction of the stacks and removal of three plus million volumes from the Central Library. The suit was brought on the basis that the proposed actions of the defendants would violate the plaintiffs’ freedom of speech rights to receive information and ideas granted by the State constitution, run contrary to the terms of NYPL’s state funding, and constitute a breach by the Library Trustees of their fiduciary duties to the public. In addition, the lawsuit asserted that the City and the NYPL had violated the State and City Environmental Quality Review Acts by not doing an Environmental Impact Statement.
As stated by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Laura D. Barbieri of A4J, “The destruction of the stacks… will surely doom the NYPL’s mission to serve the public’s research and reference needs,” and, “If the stacks are destroyed, the books and the unique and distinguishing asset of the NYPL can never be returned to their rightful place under the Rose Main Reading Room.” Arthur Z. Schwartz, President of A4J added, “What the Library, with the City’s assistance, would like to do in the name of modernization is cut off access to information. Such access is fundamental to our democracy and is protected by the First Amendment and our state constitution.”
As a result of the lawsuit and A4J's advocacy efforts, the plaintiffs were successful in persuading the Library to preserve the stacks and an historic landmark, and to reconsider their plans for the $300 million renovation of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
More information and media coverage about NYPL:
The planned renovation of the Central Library was scheduled to begin in 2015 and be completed in 2018. The renovation would gut seven levels of stacks that have, until recently, held millions of volumes from the library’s research collection. These stacks bear the weight of the NYPL ‘s famed Rose Main Reading Room. The Schwarzman Building is itself a historic landmark, and it sits adjacent to Bryant Park, also a landmark.
On behalf of several well-known individual plaintiffs, Advocates for Justice brought a lawsuit against the NYPL, several large foundations and various City entities seeking an injunction preventing the destruction of the stacks and removal of three plus million volumes from the Central Library. The suit was brought on the basis that the proposed actions of the defendants would violate the plaintiffs’ freedom of speech rights to receive information and ideas granted by the State constitution, run contrary to the terms of NYPL’s state funding, and constitute a breach by the Library Trustees of their fiduciary duties to the public. In addition, the lawsuit asserted that the City and the NYPL had violated the State and City Environmental Quality Review Acts by not doing an Environmental Impact Statement.
As stated by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Laura D. Barbieri of A4J, “The destruction of the stacks… will surely doom the NYPL’s mission to serve the public’s research and reference needs,” and, “If the stacks are destroyed, the books and the unique and distinguishing asset of the NYPL can never be returned to their rightful place under the Rose Main Reading Room.” Arthur Z. Schwartz, President of A4J added, “What the Library, with the City’s assistance, would like to do in the name of modernization is cut off access to information. Such access is fundamental to our democracy and is protected by the First Amendment and our state constitution.”
As a result of the lawsuit and A4J's advocacy efforts, the plaintiffs were successful in persuading the Library to preserve the stacks and an historic landmark, and to reconsider their plans for the $300 million renovation of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
More information and media coverage about NYPL: