LESLIE BARBARO / HERALD NEWS
PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY
PASSAIC PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE NEWS
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Mayor grants reprieve for Reid Library
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 Students from The Learning Center, from right, Diana Rodriguez, Alvaro Lizarbe and Kidanny Romero hand out paper buttons Sunday at a meeting in Passaic to show their support for keeping the 104-year-old Reid Memorial Library open. |
PASSAIC -- Mayor Samuel Rivera declared Sunday that the Reid Memorial Library would not be closed.
At a special public hearing where more than 150 people gathered in the second-floor concert hall to comment on the Library Board of Trustees' plan to shutter the 104-year-old building, Rivera spoke first, saying in a surprise announcement that he met with local businessmen two weeks ago to start a foundation for the library.
"I am here to promise you that the library stays open," Rivera said. "The library will be saved, and we will rebuild the library, and we are going to reconstruct."
In February, the board said it would consider closing the branch because of structural damage to the building's roof and foundation. The board said the $155,000 cost of replacing the building's roof, along with making the Reid accessible to the disabled, was too expensive.
But after Rivera's unannounced appearance, Library Board President Craig Miller assured the audience that the library would indeed stay open.
"Today is a red-letter day," Miller said. "We are now in a different trajectory. I am thrilled to be library president at this moment."
Miller said that most likely he would meet with city officials to work out the details of any financial agreement.
The meeting became a moment of triumph for many Passaic public school students and teachers, as well as residents, who fought hard against the closure with letter-writing campaigns and heartfelt words at public meetings since the Board of Trustees first announced their plan in February.
"Today, the people have spoken," said former City Historian Mark Auerbach, a tenacious critic of the plan to close the Reid. "Today, he (Rivera) honored the memory of Jane Watson Reid."
Many in the audience who grew up in Passaic spoke passionately of what the Reid meant to them.
"My grandparents came to this country 90 years ago. The Reid Memorial helped them become Americans," said Barbara Jean Sikora, now director of the Livingston Public Library. "My father was born on Fourth (Street) and my mother was born on Ninth -- the Reid helped them become readers."
After the mayor spoke, scores of children lined up in single file to tell the library board why they felt the library should stay open, and each child received a loud round of applause.
"It's a great resource and place for students to learn and study," said Donna Danidelly, 14.
Several teachers also spoke.
Terrence Love, a second-grade teacher at School 8, said that given the low literacy rate among Passaic schoolchildren, "I think it's an absolute must that this library stays open."
He said the children in his class "look at Ms. Mildred (one of the Reid librarians) like another mom down here."
Passaic resident Blanca Camacho, who lives across the street from the library, said her adult son has a learning disability and uses the Reid library nearly every day. "He wanted to make sure I was here today because this is the only place he can come to take out books, movies and do Internet," she said
City Council President Gary Schaer, who declined to speak, was present, along with Councilmen Daniel Schwartzand Marcellus Jackson.
Before the public session began, the board handed out cost estimates from a new report by architects LAN Associates on the physical condition of the Reid building, citing more than $1 million in exterior and interior upgrades to the library. The full report, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald News, concluded "there were no significant structural deficiencies observed. The overall main structural systems are in good condition."
The report recommended replacement of the roof and fire alarm system.
Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7100 or mandell@northjersey.com.