Nearly three years after being destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, the Queens Library at Peninsula has re-opened. NY1's Angi Gonzalez has the story.
Just as soon as it re-opened, for the first time in nearly 3 years, the Queens Library at Peninsula in Rockaway Beach was packed.
"As soon as you open the door to a library, people pour in. Cause what’s in here is so good it’s all for free," said City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer.
The new and improved library now boasts more books, media and computers.
It also now has an expanded children's room, a teen area and larger adult learning center.
Resources that have been mostly unavailable to this community since October 2012, when damage from Hurricane Sandy forced the branch to close.
"We had temp services the whole time but certainly not to the level the community needed and deserved,” Bridget Quinn Carey, Interim President & CEO of Queens Library.
The library operated out of a mobile trailer as the branch was gutted and then remodeled thanks to $3.6 million in funding.
In fact, the only things that are still original to the library is its foundation and the structure’s shell.
"We don’t like storms we don’t like disasters but everything happens for a reason and who knows how long it would have taken us to reorganize this library if we didn’t have mother nature’s way of kick starting the program," said the Chair of the City Council Subcommittee on Libraries, Andy King.
Special considerations did have to be made during the rebuilding process to ensure that the library would be able to withstand another weather event, like Hurricane Sandy.
“Everything that was rebuilt after Sandy has new standards that they had to adhere to and this library was not an exception to that and so its stronger and better than it was," said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
Patrons, however, just seemed happy to have a place to take the kids in the upcoming school year.
"It has been a little inconvenient because we couldn’t sit down or do research for the kids so I’m glad that this is open," said library patron Denise Jiggetts.
The new library didn’t disappoint its youngest clients, either.
"I like that its closer because we don’t have to take the train," said 8-year-old Jaelyn Payne.
Meantime local leaders view the re-opening as sign of progress in the area.
"Every time we have a grand opening or a small business it’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Assembly Member Phillip Goldfeder.
The celebrations aren’t over and additional events marking the grand opening of the library continue through Saturday.
For more information go to www.queenslibrary.org.