Critically acclaimed when it opened, the Queens Public Library has been in the news over its accessibility issues for years. Completed in 2019 at a cost of more than $40 million USD, the building contains a series of stepped platforms, with book stacks that can only be reached by using stairs.
In 2019, Tanya Jackson, a woman with mobility issues, sued the Library and its Board of Trustees for discrimination. Last month, the City of New York filed its own suit against Holl’s office, stating that the building did not comply with the ADA (American Disabilities Act), and demanded $10 million to make changes to the structure. How a public building constructed in the 21st century, having gone through New York City’s approvals process, can emerge so ill-prepared to receive the actual public is mind-boggling, especially since construction at Queens Public Library also began two decades after the passage of the ADA.
I myself have two family members with mobility issues, so I think this design is a complete waste of space. Why have an unusable library rather than something that is more effective and inclusive? The building itself, which sits on the East River waterfront, is an 82-foot-high rectangular prism with asymmetrical windows. The atrium inside eats up a lot of space (the entire six-story building is only 22,000 square feet), leading to passageways that are uncomfortably narrow and thin. Ascend the stairs from the ground floor into the media section, and you’ll find only a few feet of walkway between the banisters and stacks.
A 2019 news report about the building’s problems noted that a stroller parking area blocked the entrance to the second-floor elevators. Moreover, the curvy, slippery walls have made storing books a challenge. In the children’s section, there are racks of book carts spilling off the walls right into the librarian’s office. In addition to wheelchairs, the area is also inaccessible to book carts. Was the plan really to require librarians to tiredly drag up and down stairs carrying loads of books? Hence, These areas have since had their volumes yanked out of shelves and now sit empty.
In 2019, Tanya Jackson, a woman with mobility issues, sued the Library and its Board of Trustees for discrimination. Last month, the City of New York filed its own suit against Holl’s office, stating that the building did not comply with the ADA (American Disabilities Act), and demanded $10 million to make changes to the structure. How a public building constructed in the 21st century, having gone through New York City’s approvals process, can emerge so ill-prepared to receive the actual public is mind-boggling, especially since construction at Queens Public Library also began two decades after the passage of the ADA.
I myself have two family members with mobility issues, so I think this design is a complete waste of space. Why have an unusable library rather than something that is more effective and inclusive? The building itself, which sits on the East River waterfront, is an 82-foot-high rectangular prism with asymmetrical windows. The atrium inside eats up a lot of space (the entire six-story building is only 22,000 square feet), leading to passageways that are uncomfortably narrow and thin. Ascend the stairs from the ground floor into the media section, and you’ll find only a few feet of walkway between the banisters and stacks.
A 2019 news report about the building’s problems noted that a stroller parking area blocked the entrance to the second-floor elevators. Moreover, the curvy, slippery walls have made storing books a challenge. In the children’s section, there are racks of book carts spilling off the walls right into the librarian’s office. In addition to wheelchairs, the area is also inaccessible to book carts. Was the plan really to require librarians to tiredly drag up and down stairs carrying loads of books? Hence, These areas have since had their volumes yanked out of shelves and now sit empty.