New Lots Library among winners of NYC Neighborhood Library Awards
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the Charles H. Revson Foundation on Wednesday announced the five winners of the second annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards, which celebrate the crucial role of local libraries in serving New York City’s diverse communities. The winners emerged from more than 13,000 nominations by New Yorkers, who nominated every single branch in New York City’s three library systems: the Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Library and the New York Public Library, which operates branches in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.
The five winners, among them the New Lots Library in Brooklyn, each received $20,000 at an awards ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. They were selected from 10 finalists by a distinguished panel of independent judges, including acclaimed authors Maira Kalman, Jonathan Safran Foer and Jacqueline Woodson; Susan Hildreth, former director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services; Dutton Children’s Books publisher Julie Strauss-Gabel; and Maya Wiley, counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Takora, an East New York resident, parent and job-seeker, nominated the New Lots Library. “I live in a very impoverished neighborhood. Every day is a struggle for everyone, but because of this place, we have access to the Internet and books and classes,” she said. “This library helps people in our community better themselves and become a contributing part of society. Without this branch giving us the tools to do so, a lot of us would have no other way to get help or find things available to us.”