Windsor Terrace Library reopened on-schedule Monday following just shy a month’s worth of rooftop renovations, undermining a time-honored Brooklyn Public Library tradition of failing to meet construction deadlines.
The Brooklyn book lender’s Windsor Terrace branch closed on March 13 to permit the construction of a snazzy new roof outfitted with $250,000 worth of green technology — namely, extensive plantings including perennial groundcovers and ornamental grasses — intended to save energy by keeping the library warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
It is also supposed to provide a home for wildlife, such as birds and bees, although likely not the book-reading squirrel featured in promotional renderings of the new library roof, which exists only in the imaginations of young readers.
The library is now open for its normal hours, although construction work will continue on the roof until sometime during the summer.
The Windsor Terrace book lender’s construction schedule appears to be progressing as planned, but the library system doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to meeting renovation deadlines.
In the past, both the Fort Hamilton and Park Slope branches were closed for three years to accommodate renovations that were supposed to take only 18 months.
