LINDENHURST LIBRARY

Article by Charlie Valentino – Senior Project Manager

Lindenhurst Memorial Library (LML) has been one of the timeless staples of the community since its slow but inevitable inception. In 1945, at the close of World War II, the good people of Lindenhurst decided to honor those who fought and gave everything they had for our great nation. The intended location was originally down the road a bit, and the land was officially dedicated on December 7, 1947, Pearl Harbor Day. Getting off to a rocky start, the budget vote to build the library was shot down in mid-1950. It wasn’t till 1953 when it was agreed upon to relinquish the land back to the village and open the library within the new Town Hall. Many years later, after a passing budget of $757,500 in 1967, it finally transitioned from a Village Library to a School District Library. It was also moved from the Village Hall to its current location at 1 Lee Ave, just off South Wellwood Avenue. In similar fashion, the original planned 2017, $15 MM, 10,000 sqf. expansion proposal was defeated. But by 2019, they had an approved $10 MM, budget. The plan was to expand 3,000 sqft, and totally renovate the interior and the grounds, top to bottom. So, in mid-2021, LML started its new 15-month journey with the same team that brought you Bayport Blue Point Library: Construction Management provided by Park East and General Construction work provided by RENU. The job was completed in two phases, which allowed the library to continue to operate out of the old Children’s Library room, and offer its services in an express fashion, while RENU began work on the rest. The scope of work included a state of the art two story, 3,000 sqft. addition that became the new home of the Young Adult section, a new entryway Rotunda, reminiscent of one of the many lighthouses around Long Island, a new, kid-friendly courtyard, complete with stylized rubberized surface, and the entire rest of the library was upgraded with energy efficient curtain walls, glazing, lighting, HVAC, and Wi-Fi Building Management Systems. The plethora of ADA-compliant upgrades were, perhaps, the most needed enhancements to this old public building. These upgrades consisted of complete overhauls to all seven bathrooms, widening of the elevator 2 ft, in both directions, and finally, ramps where necessary, inside and out, to give unhindered access to ALL locations and services to those with special needs. The Young Adult area was outfitted with many cozy new seating and study areas, two new computer areas, 22 ft high energy efficient curtain wall windows, folding glass divider wall, and some artfully designed lighting. Nothing in this area was straight or square. The curved building envelope required everything to be accurately radiused, bent, kerfed or scribed. From the custom rolled steel to the radiused wall components and gypsum, to the interior handrails, all the way to the upper exterior custom fiberglass cornice. All these items had very long lead times, and coming off the heels of the COVID-19 epidemic, stalled shipping lanes, and sidelined trucking convoys, these items needed the utmost attention to detail, in order to get it right the first time, and stay on schedule. Being that the carpentry was handled in house on this one, despite all the hiccups, delays, and setbacks, the job still came in on time, culminating in a successful ribbon cutting and re-dedication ceremony. For those thinking that libraries are a fading commodity in the shadows of the ever-expanding world of technology, judging by the crowd assembling at the door a half hour before it opens daily, the Lindenhurst Memorial Library is quickly proving to be the “crown jewel” of main street Lindenhurst, and a shining example of what RENU and Milburn are proudly capable of doing to enhance communities across Long Island and the Hudson Valley.