Just when it seemed like Hunters Point’s zany library was on track for its opening this year, the project has been delayed yet again. This time it’s because the project is waiting on a glass shipment from Spain, where a workers strike has delayed delivery, DNAinfo reports.
The Steven Holl Architects-designed library was once set to open by the end of 2014. Budgeting concerns delayed the project and construction only got underway in March 2015. There’s been steady progress since, with the library being fitted with its concrete facade last fall.
Now this latest setback means the library’s opening could be delayed to the end of this year or early next year. A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Design and Construction told DNAinfo that the project is expected to be complete by September.
But the Queens Library will take another four months after construction wraps to actually get the library ready to open to the public. It’s not yet clear if this delay will also escalate costs on the $38 million project, but it wouldn’t be a first for big name-architect-designed project funded by the city.
Project delays also seem to be a run of the mill affair for the DDC, when it concerns cultural institutions and libraries. A recent report by the Center for Urban Future found that the city’s libraries wait four years on average for fixes or improvements, due to bureaucratic red tape. The data pertained to projects completed between 2010-2014, so it doesn’t include the Hunters Point library, but it is a startling fact nonetheless.