Hunters Point Library Will Move Books To Fix Accessibility Issue

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY — The Hunters Point Library will relocate some of its fiction books after outraged visitors pointed out that they were shelved on tiered levels only accessible by stairs.

The new library has one elevator, but it doesn't go to those tiers just above the lobby, which house periodicals and part of the library's fiction collection.

First reported by Gothamist, the accessibility complaints surfaced barely a week after the $41.5 million library by Steven Holl Architects opened to the public on Sept. 24.

The library building technically complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Queens Public Library spokesperson Elisabeth de Bourbon, and the library's website touts that it is wheelchair accessible.

But a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Design and Construction declined to respond on the record to Patch's questions about the library's ADA compliance.

Library staffers had planned to get around the issue of the inaccessible tiers by fetching books for customers who couldn't access them, according to the library spokesperson.

"Our staff has been and will continue to retrieve books for customers, and we are going to offer devices that will allow customers to browse the materials available in those areas," she told Gothamist.