Transcript: Mayor Adams Breaks Ground on Renovations for Queens Public Library's Hollis Branch

October 18, 2024

Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, Operations: Good morning. Another beautiful day in New York where we're able to announce building for the people. And today is all about libraries. 

I have a personal love for libraries, spent a lot of time in them as a kid, grew up in Philadelphia and actually won an award from the libraries and a free trip to Copenhagen. So there's a lot to be said for the public library system. Yeah. Just just say if you have any ideas, how do you get kids to read? That's how you get kids to read. It worked for me. 

So I couldn't be happier than to be spending Friday with a group of committed agency leaders, committed elected and are very committed mayor to ensuring that all of the children and all of the adults in New York City have safe, open, available places not just to read anymore, but to meet, to use the Internet and to gather and learn so much more and expand their horizons well beyond their neighborhoods. 

And so I'd like to introduce our mayor. Oh, no, actually, we're going to start this time. Is this true? We're starting with Commissioner Foley? Wow. I got to check. They're turning things around on. You know what? We're going to start with the mayor. I read this wrong. Yeah. I apologize. We're starting with our mayor. Mayor Adams. Thank you.

Mayor Eric Adams: The commissioner and I have been hanging out all week, look like, you know, what DDC is doing, Design and Construction is doing is just really amazing. 

And the long rich history of the president of the Queens Library is Dennis Walcott. I think this is like a 40 something year relationship from the days that he worked with my mom at Amstead Daycare Center. And he has just been constant, you know, from deputy mayor to chancellor to just really is a great, great public servant. And we continue to just thank you for the work that you're doing. I think a marathon runner also, you know, are you running with Meera? 

So when you think about it, I'm joined by avid library of believers of Queens, get the money Donovan Richards. I know Councilwoman Lee is also part of this initiative in our amazing assemblywoman, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and all of our partners. Libraries of long way from what they were. You look at that old Oldsmobile commercial, we say this is not your dad's Oldsmobile. Well, this is not our mom and dad's libraries. There's so much more. 

And when you look at this seven million dollar infusement of money into this branch, it is really becoming a focal point of the community. Everything from learning about careers to college readiness to how does one get a passport? How does one register to vote? It is just a place where you meet, at the 165th Street library across from the bus terminal off of Jamaica Avenue. We used to meet there as children, do our homework and sit there and it was a real place for babysitting. It was a safe space for children and families and particularly for even our new arrivals to the city. 

The libraries play a major role of navigating what resources are available. So we're really proud of this seven million dollar infusement. We want to thank all of our partners in government that assisted in making this happen, our partners in the City Council. They understand how important it is to invest in our libraries. As Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi has pushed for, part of the $300 million, three fiscal years investment that we have put in and the $900 million that we put in and the 2025 to 2028 capital plan. We know the roles that libraries play and it is just imperative that we come up and continue to highlight and let people know the accessibilities of libraries. 

Schools and libraries are two of the accessible and safe spaces that everyday New Yorkers are comfortable and walking inside because the welcome mat is more than what's in words, but it's what is in action behind these doors. And again, thanks the entire team that has come together. Let's continue to invest in our libraries. We will continue to invest in people. Thank you very much.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you very much. And as the mayor mentioned, when DDC is here, things are getting done. We call them our Navy Seals and they are behind the renderings that you see in front of you. Those are in-house engineers, DC-37 members led by our commissioner, Tom Foley, who are generating the designs and the agency that will execute the renovation that will happen very soon. So Tom Foley.

Commissioner Tom Foley, Department of Design and Construction: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, deputy mayor. My name is Tom Foley. I'm the commissioner of New York City's Design and Construction, an amazing team of 1,200 who literally build cool stuff throughout the city. 

And that's what we're doing here today in Hollis, a brand new inside full gut renovation. We're really excited about the opportunities that's going to present itself here at Hollis really is, as the mayor said, it's a beacon to the community, beacon of knowledge, of sharing community. And that's going to be represented inside, delighted with, our in-house team of architects actually designed this with amazing partnership. We couldn't do it alone. 

Amazing partnership, as always, with Dennis Walcott and his QPL team. Donovan Richards,  obviously a huge, huge fan of getting the money and keeping us at work throughout all stretches of Queens, whether that's for our resiliency program. We've recently finished our Far Rockaway Library, award winning, recognized by Wall Street Journal design awards throughout the country and is really, again, anchors and beacons into the community. So many, many thanks to our amazing DDC team, many of which are here today. And we'll look forward to opening this up in spring of 2026.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you. And next, we'll bring on Dennis Walcott, who's not only been a partner to libraries, but as the mayor mentioned, a partner to the city, dedicating years to public service. Those years you won't get back, by the way, Dennis, but we appreciate them. 

And also just to point out, in addition to today, we've been spending a lot of time and energy on the Queens Public Library system. Commissioner Foley mentioned Rockaway. Please take a visit if you haven't. It is a wonder. And also Laurelton reopened after we were able to complete facade work and rooftop work there as well. So we really want to ensure that the members of Queens get to enjoy and access good public libraries. So I'd like to bring on Dennis Walcott. Thank you.

Dennis Walcott, President and CEO, Queens Public Library: Thank you, deputy mayor. It's always a pleasure to be here and it's a double pleasure to be here with the mayor of the City of New York. 

Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for your kind words. And since you opened this way, I got to tell a personal story that the mayor's mom and I started working last month, 50 years ago, 50 years ago together at Amistad. And the mayor's mom, the kindest, sweetest person. And when she would come to our classroom, she always had a big smile on her face, a big greeting, and always the person who just stood out in a crowd. So Mr. Mayor, thank you for mentioning your mom because it gives me the opportunity to mention your mother in the way I think about her as well. 

So it's great to be here. Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do. I want to thank you for the opportunity to work with great deputy mayors. One we have here, now your new first deputy mayor as well. The partnership that we have with them is truly outstanding. The partnership we have with the commissioner, Commissioner Foley, is outstanding. Your team members have been very supportive of the Queens Public Library and libraries throughout the city as well. And I want to thank you for your support as well. 

An inside baseball story, when the mayor first started, he had a meeting with the three library presidents virtually at that point, since we were in COVID era. And he said, I want to do something for our teenagers in our libraries. And he just didn't talk about it. He did something about it. And as a result of the investment that the mayor made to the three library systems, we were able to increase our program activities for teenagers in our libraries across the five boroughs. In addition to that, we were able to open up a new teen center in Long Island City as a result of your support as well. 

So Mr. Mayor, I want to thank you for that investment in our teenagers in New York City. I want to be very conscious of the person who's standing over here to my right, the borough president. I didn't know you had that nickname. So now I know you have it, because what he accuses me of is walking in his door when I see him. And he will probably tell a story in a second of how we try to do business as far as making sure the resources are there from the Queens borough president. And he has invested tremendously in our libraries. And Mr. B.P., I want to say thank you to you and to Councilmember Lee and the City Council delegation as well as the speaker. They've invested as well, so we say a big thank you to you as well. 

I just can't describe enough the type of work that DDC does as far as the work at our libraries. And I brought really, show and tell for a second. These are all the various projects that we're engaged in with DDC over the next several years. Some small, some not so small. Like Rego Park, like Douglaston, like Richmond Hill. As deputy mayor indicated, Laurelton. Recently we just reopened Hillcrest as well. That's as a result of your investment and the partnership with the City Council, the borough president, and City Hall. And I am extremely, and we are extremely thankful. 

Abdullah's here, who is the manager of Hollis. And now you, the public, and all of us have on record from the commissioner when the reopening will take place of this library. Mr. Mayor, you have to note that down in your records. It is in the public record that we will reopen this library sooner than later. And that's as a result of the commitment of DDC and in partnership with the Queens Public Library. 

And as I close, I would be remiss if I didn't thank our staff as well. Our staff has done a tremendous job in making sure they're working in conjunction with DDC. But also in our own initiated capital projects as well. Our goal is to improve libraries, as the mayor indicated. The South Jamaica Library, Mr. Mayor, as I imagine the library you went to as a child, in addition to hanging out at the terminal in front of Central. I know about hanging out at the terminal in front of Central as well. Yes, we all do. The South Jamaica Library, or any library, is not the library that I went to. It's not the library that all of you went to. 

As the mayor indicated, people are coming through our doors because we are one of the most trusted institutions in the world. We are truly an open democratic institution. We don't ask who you are, where you came from, what your beliefs are. We just say, come on in. We are here to serve your needs, no matter how old or young. 

Yesterday I had a meeting with my team about our baby card, and that we put a baby card in place for our library folks. And when people are giving birth at hospitals at Elmhurst and now Flushing in Jamaica, they will get a baby card. Since we've implemented this new initiative, we've given out 15,000 new baby cards to new parents. So that way they're engaged in the Queens Public Library. Mr. Mayor, a big thank you for all of your support and everything that you've done. And to the City of New York, to our City Council, and our borough president. We make a great team in working with DDC around the capital needs of our libraries, and we wish you all the best. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you very much. I had the pleasure of last Friday being with the borough president to see what we could do around renewable energy in Queens. And I'm really excited to be here again with the borough president to celebrate what Mayor Adams is leading about renewable youth in investing in our libraries. So our borough president, Donovan Richards. Thank you.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards: Thank you, Deputy Mayor Joshi. I'm going to call it Fridays with Joshi in Queens now, because she's here every Friday it feels like. 

And let me start by thanking the mayor. Thank you for your partnership. And of course, we say Queens get the money, keep sending it to Queens, all right? Of course, to my good friend, Dennis Walcott. Wow, thank you for your service. We are really getting a lot done collectively in this borough because of your vision for a better library system here in Queens County, and of course, to your team. To DDC, thank you for what you continue to do, and all the agencies who've made this possible. 

And as Dennis just alluded to, our libraries are democratic institutions. And if we look at the period of history we're in right now, a lot of that history is under attack. So investing in these libraries is a direct counter to what we see going on around the country. When you talk about books being banned around the country, history being misplaced and displaced. We need to be able to tell our stories. And Queens Library, and Queens in general, being the most diverse county in the United States of America. 190 countries, 360 languages and dialects are spoken in Queens. You could literally travel the world in Queens without going anywhere, because we are the most diverse county in the United States of America. 

So investing in these libraries is a direct way for us to continue to tell those stories. Yes, they are democratic institutions, as Dennis alluded to. No matter your socioeconomic status, no matter your race, no matter your gender, no matter your immigration status, these libraries are open to everyone. And they played such a key role, even coming through the pandemic. Our libraries also opened up as centers where we can get testing, where we can get our COVID virus shots, our COVID shots, which we need to do again. And we need to remind the public to do that again. 

So we have a lot more work to do, but I'm proud to be here. We've invested $26 million into our library system since I've taken office as the borough president. And we're going to continue to invest in these institutions. And we need to make sure that every year we're not doing this budget dance when it comes to libraries. Our libraries must be fully funded because safety is predicated on having institutions like our libraries open seven days a week. You can't incarcerate your way out of poverty, my friends. And the way to do that, to make sure we have real public safety, is to make sure that our libraries and institutions are being invested in 100 percent. 

With that being said, I can't wait for this library to open. I want to, of course, send, and I think most of our community members here will agree with me, Marc Haken. I know you're smiling down on us today. We love you, Marc Haken. We know you wanted to be here. Rest in peace. And I'll close in just saying, this is certainly a home run, and we hope that the Mets hit a few tonight. Because it's not looking good, y'all, but we're going to keep the faith. It's a real amazing day, and at least for our libraries, it's a day to go on, home run. Congratulations, let's go Mets.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you very much. And all of this is not possible without the advocacy at City Council. So I'd like to bring up the tireless Councilmember Lee. Thank you. 

[Crosstalk.]

Okay, all right. The other piece of this is we need to build better, faster. And we had to go to Albany this year to get specific tools that will allow us to build, to do renovations at libraries faster. It's an authority called CM/Build. We're waiting for the governor to sign that legislation, which I'm sure will happen very, very soon. But for a job like this, had we had that authority today, it would certainly take months and dollars off of the time and cost of this job. It allows us to consolidate the work of renovations. And the bill that passed is specific to libraries, with an understanding that time and money for libraries, saving both, is essential. 

So I'd like to bring up Assemblymember Rajkumar, who's been essential to the advocacy and the successful passage of our alternative delivery bills at the state level. Thank you.

State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar: It's always a beautiful day to celebrate the Queens Public Library, one of the largest and busiest library systems in the entire world. And today we are empowering the great community of Hollis, Queens. 

Hollis is a community that embodies the power of possibility. Yes, it's the very community that spawned Run DMC, Ja Rule, just to name a few. But this is a community that's ripe with potential. And today we are committed to unleashing the power and the potential of Hollis with the $6.8 million investment in this library that's going to completely modernize the inside of the Hollis Library. 

And I'm so excited for this. I'm so excited for every resident of this community that's going to walk into this library and whose life is going to be transformed by all of the possibilities and dreams that the library will nourish and foster. Libraries were so important to me growing up. Libraries were the place where I learned about women leaders, where I learned about women in history, where I first learned about conflicts in the Middle East. Libraries are the place that fostered my imagination and that bought me to this place. So I'm so excited for what this library is going to do for the Hollis Queens community. 

I want to thank Mayor Adams for his significant investment in libraries across this city over the past three years. And of course, the great leader of the Queens Public Library System, Dennis Walcott, who I've been with in libraries across my district from Woodhaven to Glendale. Every day we're standing together for a new renovation is always such an exciting day for every community in this city. 

It's been said that libraries are the most democratic of institutions. And Lady Bird Johnson agreed with that. She used to say that libraries require no entrance fee. The only entrance requirement is interest. So that means that anyone of any background can go to a library and reach their full potential. And Toni Morrison, she was the first Black person ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. And she said access to knowledge is the mark of a great civilization. And that's what we're bringing here to this incredible neighborhood in Queens, access to knowledge. 

So, in conclusion, may our libraries thrive for generations to come. Because as the famous Latin saying goes, scientia [potentia est], knowledge is power. Thank you so much.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you, and Councilmember Lee. Yay. We can hold your stuff. We'll give you … 

City Councilmember Linda Lee: Oh no, that's why I got the crossovers, you know? It's very multi-purpose. Sorry I am late. I just came from a different event. But I wanted to be here, especially to thank all of our electeds here. Especially, you know, our borough president, mayor, Dennis Walcott, who's like a living legend in his own. And all the staff. And of course, Martha Taylor, who's our fearless CB8 member. 

But there's just two things I really, whoo, yes, and our local electeds. And of course, no one can forget [Anthony Lemus Sr.,] who may bust out in song really soon with Frank Sinatra. No, but I just, I really wanted to thank all of you for being here today. And when I was in the, you know, in the height of COVID, I remember with our borough president, we were trying to figure out what to do with the vaccine sites. And as someone who was running a social service nonprofit at the time, where we had no days off, and we're constantly running vaccine sites and everything we could do for the community. Our libraries were so, so, so key and crucial during that time to really be a resource for our community. 

And our libraries really are hubs where people, of course, can enjoy, you know, reading and learning, which is one of the basic fundamentals of what our libraries do for us. But on top of that, they really have become such a beacon of resources for our community and other social services that our community may need. So I just want to thank the libraries for that. 

Of course, I got to mention Marc Haken, who is not here with us today. Yes, I know, which I'm sure you guys all did before, but this would not be possible without him. And I know he's looking down on us today on this beautiful, gorgeous, sunny day. And this is really a testament to his advocacy in the community to get this library funded. I still remember the very first thing he said when I came into office, we got to talk about Hollis Library. And I was like, yes, yes, yes. 

So it really is because of him and the folks in the community that really advocated for this, that we are here today at the groundbreaking, finally. So I just want to thank everyone in the community for all of your advocacy and work. And thank you so much, everyone, for being here today.

Question: Hi, Mayor Adams. 

Mayor Adams: Yes, how are you? 

Question: Great. I wanted to ask, I know the Spring 2026 completion for this. I know you said it's going to start earlier, finish earlier rather than later. But I know for a lot of normies, that still sounds like a long time. I know the Seaside branch of the Queens Library is closed for a full year to replace the air conditioning. 

I don't know if someone wants to get on the technical side of why this stuff… I know maybe it gets a design bill. The deputy mayor, it’s one of her favorite topics. So we just want to discuss why, because it is a disruption to the community, even if it is going to come out much better on the other side.

Commissioner Foley: It is. And thank you for the question. I actually gave you an index card with that because I love talking about this. There's a huge, I know, that was a joke, that was a joke. 

Seventy five hundred square feet, pure renovation, pure gut. This building is over 50 years old. So we're bringing it up to modern times from a technology standpoint as well. HVAC and all that. 

There is a better way. And that is through CM/Build. That's what the deputy mayor referred to as alternate delivery that had passed up in Albany. And there was huge support for that with the library systems, with the electeds up in Albany. And what we're hoping for is that obviously the governor signs that we're working in parallel, assuming that that will be signed. 

And we're gearing up, working with Dennis's team and NYPL and BPL as far as which projects would assign themselves from a scope perspective to allow us to do better, faster and cheaper. And that's our goal. And that's what those are the tools. I'm a professional engineer. Those are the tools I need. I should be held accountable. But, you know, everywhere else in the country has these tools, except for us. It's quite crazy, but happy to talk about it offline as well.

Question: The borough president said we've got to avoid the budget dance. Back when we had the budget dance earlier this year, you were accused by members of the City Council of disinvesting in libraries. You know that. And now your banner here today says investing in our libraries. Some might wonder, is he just emphasizing the positive on libraries to sort of bring back some of the critics or to distract attention from what's going on with the legal challenge?

Mayor Adams: No. Next question. [...] Okay, yes.