Flushing Library reopens for first time since pandemic shutdown
NEW YORK -- The Flushing Library reopened Monday after being shut down since the early days of the COVID pandemic.
As CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported, it was an important day for the community.
Pre-pandemic, Yuen Chin visited this branch of the Queens Public Library every day.
"That's half my life I spent here," Chin said.
A collection 400,000 strong, movies, newspapers and catching up with friends kept him coming back.
"Absolutely wonderful. We were waiting and waiting and waiting," Principal Administrative Associate Caron James said.
The library's new hours are:
- Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Dennis M. Walcott, president and CEO of the Queens Public Library, said, like all libraries, Flushing shut down at the start of the pandemic and services went virtual.
"We opened for grab-and-go and then we converted the Flushing Library into a vaccine site," Walcott said.
Walcott said the space hosted one of the busiest vaccine sites in New York City.
Unexpected equipment failures prolonged reopening. The HVAC system died and work started on the second elevator.
Finally, with heat functional and a temporary chiller in place, customers can again come here to read, relax and learn.
For four years, Qian Jin Huant has studied English thanks to ESL programming. She said virtual learning was not easy. Being back at it in person is so much better.
"I can talk more English," Huant said.
It was a quiet opening for Flushing Library - and that doesn't mean the volume.
"On a given day, five to to 6,000 people come through the doors," Walcott said.
Walcott and Library Director Yang Zeng feel with word spreading fast, it will be back to business as usual soon - and that means really busy.
"In the fiscal year 2019, 1.7 million customers come into the library to use our service," Zeng said. "By statistics, we are the busiest community library in the country."
Zeng declared it "a special day for us," because she and her staff can once again offer full library services to the community in person.
During the pandemic, full-time library employees were reassigned to other Queens Public Library locations. Construction on the second elevator should be completed by summer 2023. New heating and cooling should be ready by 2024.