Having been closed for more than a year, due to the citywide shutdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the Mosholu branch of New York Public Library (NYPL), like many others, reopened to the public in July, as reported. In August, it held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its refurbished, outdoor patio to the general public, and it’s proving a big hit.

 

Library officials and residents celebrated the opening on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the Mosholu branch, located at 285 East 205th Street in Norwood, where they handed out free book bags, computer and e-book tutorial giveaways, and hosted an art workshop, the first of many programs scheduled for the fall season at the library.

 

Sitting reading his book at the new outdoor patio, where chairs and tables are placed among the well-trimmed bushes, trees and plants to ensure adequate social distancing, Norwood resident, Leo Diaz, told the Norwood News, “I like it, I love it!”

 

Also sitting on the new, outdoor deck was Chung Hie Kim, also of Norwood, who said of the library, “I’m a regular member; I come here every day.” Asked for her opinion of the new, outdoor space, Kim said, “It’s very exciting. Yes, it’s good for people of all ages.”

Meanwhile, Mosholu branch manager, Jane Addison-Amoyaw, said of the library’s new backyard, “We’re using it for programming, and for people to sit and read, and do anything they like. We got a good crowd this morning and they were all excited to see this backyard.”

 

Visitors can sit in the back and read, eat, enjoy nature, or even use one of the library’s laptops, as the backyard is accessible to the library’s free, Wi-Fi network. Amoyaw explained that the library opened in 1955, and the backyard space was already there but was not being used like it is now. “We just received this funding check to make it look more usable,” she said. “That’s the reason why we had this opening, for guests to see that we have all this space and tables.”

 

Amoyaw added, “This is our way of welcoming back our patrons to the library. We’re close to offering pre-pandemic services.” The library is expected to keep the backyard open for at least some of the fall season, weather permitting.

 

Bobby Sherwood, a publicist with NYPL, told the Norwood News on Friday, Sept. 17, “This summer, the New York Public Library extended the libraries’ footprint into adjacent outdoor spaces.”

 

These extensions took effect at five Bronx library branches: Baychester Library, with 80 chairs and 40 tables, Edenwald Library with 60 chairs and 26 tables, Woodstock Library with 35 chairs, 15 tables and 15 sun shades, Mosholu Library with 30 chairs, 12 tables and 12 sun shades and Van Cortlandt Library with 15 chairs, 5 tables and 5 sun shades.

 

Sherwood added, “These outdoor spaces will be used as outdoor reading rooms, and will offer browsing, reading and live programs like story-time, author events, music activities and more.” Sherwood added that the funding came from the NYPL’s “general operating funds,” with support from the Revson Foundation, though he could not provide an exact dollar amount.

 

As reported earlier this summer, Bronx Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) announced the allocation of $10,000 in funding to each of four local libraries in the 80th assembly district, Mosholu being one of the four, on Thursday, June 10, during a press conference held outside Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library. The other two were Morris Park Library and Allerton Library.

 

Norwood News also recently reported that NYPL has just announced a range of STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math] and other programs for the fall season, at various branches across the City and borough, including some at Mosholu library. More details of these programs, as well as details of a new after-school program at Mosholu, can be found here.

 

 

They include a new, drop-in, after-school program, where students aged 6 to 12 can receive homework help from a library tutor or a teen reading ambassador. There are also personalized reading recommendations, along with writing, STEAM, and other enrichment activities. The program is offered Monday to Thursday, and began on Monday, Sept. 27.

 

The Mosholu library branch boasts 6,000 square feet of revamped, outdoor space, while the nearby Van Cortlandt branch has 3,000 square feet. As reported previously, the Van Cortlandt branch of NYPL reopened at its current location, at 3882 Canon Place [which is twice the size of its former one, located a quarter mile away] in Van Cortlandt Village, on July 15, 2019.

 

 

In other good news for library members, as reported, on Tuesday, Oct. 5., New York Public Library (NYPL) system, which covers 92 locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, will no longer charge late fines on books and other circulating materials, eliminating barriers to reading and ensuring all New Yorkers, especially those in low-income neighborhoods, have free and open access to knowledge and opportunity, an NYPL representative said.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.