Talk about bookworms!
Workers renovating the Fort Hamilton Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library in Bay Ridge discovered that termites had chewed through wooden beams in the 104-year-old building, which is undergoing a $3.6-million rehab.
The lumber-munching pests had “compromised” the “wood structural members supporting the floor of the library,” according to Brooklyn Public Library spokeswoman Malika Granville.
Despite the insect damage, Granville insisted that the library at the corner of Fourth Avenue and 94th Street would re-open as scheduled next spring.
“Though Fort Hamilton is one of our smallest branches, it is one of our most highly visited and used,” she said.
Workers have already exterminated the timber-craving vermin, and are planning to replace the wooden beams with steel — but they can’t conduct any interior renovations until contracts are drafted for the new work by the Department of Design and Construction, which is overseeing the renovation.
Until then, the library system has asked the city to “stay within the projected time frame by looking into other areas of the project schedule to make up any time lost,” Granville said.
The area has been without a library since last spring — and southern Brooklyn bibliophiles are praying that the library will reopen as scheduled.
“When any of our libraries are under construction, the community misses it greatly,” said Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann. “Hopefully they can rectify this problem as soon as possible.”
