Greenburgh voters approve $19.9 million library expansion
By JOSEPH AX
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: May 11, 2005)
GREENBURGH — Voters narrowly approved an ambitious $19.9 million plan to renovate and expand the 37-year-old public library yesterday, setting into motion the town's largest capital project ever and ending what has been a strikingly intense public debate.
At the library last night, officials and residents erupted in wild shouting and applause when a phone call from Town Hall revealed the results.
The unofficial count was 2,252 "yes" votes and 2,186 "no" votes, with 15.7 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, according to numbers provided by the town clerk.
"I think it's a fabulous night for the town of Greenburgh," said Library Board Chairman Howard Jacobs.
As currently construed, the expansion will double the size of the library to 46,000 square feet, adding a 225-seat multipurpose room and more space for shelves, staff and visitors. Library officials hope to begin construction next spring, with an opening in the fall of 2007.
The plans also call for demolishing the old town hall building, which shares the site with the library at Tarrytown and Knollwood roads, to add more than 100 parking spaces, solving a longtime complaint of residents.
The construction will cost a taxpayer with a house assessed at the district average of $15,000 about $68 a year for 25 years, according to estimates.
"What we're going to be delivering is one of the best libraries in not only Westchester, but the metropolitan region," said Demita Gerber, the library director.
For nine years, the library board has advocated for a new or expanded building, bemoaning a lack of shelf space, parking and facilities to serve its 50,000 constituents.
The project had generated an enormous amount of attention, with separate advocacy groups calling voters last night to encourage both "yes" and "no" votes. Some residents reported getting calls from Citizens for a Better Library, a group formed to support the project. Others heard a recording from Kelly Jones of the Coalition against Unfair Taxes and Spending urging a vote against.
Yesterday, during the day, voters at the library and Town Hall were split on whether the need for a new library justified the cost.
"It's old and outdated, and it's time," said Greenburgh resident Imani Bolling, a 54-year-old social worker in the White Plains school system, moments after casting a "yes" vote at the library. "I think that we need to expand the library, and for $70 a year, it's not a big issue."
But Angelica Granados, a 60-something retired IBM employee, said she was unconvinced that the library needed a major face-lift.
"I don't know if I heard enough rationale to spend that much money," she said. "I'm satisfied with the way it is now."
The referendum's passage is a defeat for Supervisor Paul Feiner, who had said the plan was too expensive. Feiner had favored selling the old town hall building to a developer of senior housing before agreeing to allow the library board to use the site for parking.
Still, he promised last night to work with the library and with members of the public to move the project forward.
"The public spoke," he said. "Now, we have to move on and work with the library to make sure the will of the public is implemented. I'll do whatever I can to respect the wishes of the public. I'm very pleased that it was a very large turnout."
Feiner's challenger for the Democratic nomination for supervisor this year, Bill Greenawalt, was at the library last night to show support, along with Town Board members Steve Bass, Diana Juettner, Timmy Weinberg and Eddie Mae Barnes and Democratic board candidate Francis Sheehan.