After it was pointed out that the $41 million Hunters Point Library has an accessibility problem, the Queens Public Library has announced that it will take steps to fix the issue.
Though the library is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, there is one section in the building that is not accessible to individuals in wheelchairs and other mobility issues, Gothamist pointed out last week.
There is an elevator that stops at each of the building’s five floors, but there are three levels—made up of stepped seating areas, off the lobby—where the elevator doesn’t stop, and are only accessible to people who can use stairs. Those sections hold part of the fiction collection, periodicals, and places to work and charge phones.
“Our goal is to be inclusive and provide access and opportunity to all,” Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott said in a statement. “We will move the books to another location in the library and provide regular updates to the community.”
Designed by Steven Holl, the library opened two weeks ago after decades of planning and delays. The building’s architecture has been widely praised: Its facade is a square box with precast concrete, there are large windows that offer views of the Manhattan skyline, and its interiors have bamboo walls and ceilings.
But New York Magazine architecture critic Justin Davidson said on Friday that in his glowing review of the building, he “missed something important.”
“I focused on the way study carrels and bookshelves were interleaved, making old-fashioned printed volumes a part of everyone’s experience,” Davidson said, also citing Gothamist’s article. “I did not focus on the fact that not everyone could get there.”
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