The city has received two new state grants totaling $125,000 for an elevator and other improvements to the Hoboken Public Library on Fifth Street.
The library was created under the New Jersey General Library Act of 1894 and was the third established under the act, following those in Paterson and Newark. The landmark currently has no elevators, and the front steps are particularly tall, making entry difficult for seniors, the handicapped, and parents with strollers.
The Stevens family of Hoboken deeded the land to the city in 1896, and the facility opened a year later. With all of its historical grandeur, the building was constructed well before the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The renovations to the building are being undertaken in phases and started in May 2003. Contractors have already repaired the leaking roof, replaced 48 windows, cleaned and repaired masonry and stone, installed waterproofing materials, and restored the cupola. But that was only the beginning of the work that needs to be done.
The second phase will make the building more accessible to senior citizens and the disabled.
Improvements will include an elevator, two new ADA-compliant bathrooms on the mezzanine level, and handicapped accessible ramps.
The latest grants from the state’s Department of Community Affairs are part of a five-year fundraising effort to make the library accessible. One is for the ADA-compliant elevator, exterior entrance and exit ramps, ADA accessible restrooms and other interior upgrades. The other grant provides funds for the reconstruction of interior walls, electrical and lighting work and the installation of a security system.
In all, over $600,000 has been raised for the projects through state and county funding sources, according to Roberts.
“The Hoboken Public Library is the cultural cornerstone of our community and a treasure to be enjoyed by all individuals, regardless of their physical disabilities,” said Roberts. “This is a major step in achieving that goal as we continue to restore and modernize this wonderful building.”
Lina Podles, the director of the Hoboken Public Library, said that making the building accessible is one of her highest priorities. “We want everyone in the Hoboken community to be able to be able to access our collections and library services,” said Podles.
Councilman Richard Del Boccio, who is also a Library Trustee, said the library has always been an important part of the neighborhood. He said he still remembers spending many afternoons as young boy reading on third floor. Later, while principal of the Calabro Primary School, a post he held for nearly 20 years, he made sure that all of his students had library cards and teachers and students used that library, which was on the same block, daily.
“We’re really seeing a wonderful revitalization of this great historic building,” said Del Boccio. He added that in addition to ADA improvement, other improvements and programs have breathed new life into the library. Specifically, he said that at the beginning of 2003 the library only had five computers, but now there are nearly 20, each of which has Internet access and Microsoft software such as Word and Excel.
“In the past year alone we’ve had 2,500 children and adults sign up for new library cards,” said Del Boccio. “That just shows you that Ms. Podles and her staff are really doing an amazing job.”