Department Spotlight: Government & Community Relations
Over the summer, I hosted some family members who were visiting New York City for the first time. They experienced the typical city sights: towering buildings, crowded trains, garbage-covered sidewalks, and endless options for lunch—but with the August 2022 primary elections just a few weeks away, they also observed an impressive number of campaign posters decorating store windows and campaigners handing out fliers on street corners. While they had anticipated the gigantic buildings and subway rats, they were surprised by the bold strangers asking if they were registered to vote. They were…
Spotlight: Macon Library, a Classic Carnegie Representing the Bed-Stuy Community
Macon Library, located at 361 Lewis Avenue, is one of the best-preserved Carnegie branches in Brooklyn. Opened in 1907, the two-story, Classical Revival-style building retains its original fireplaces, oak paneling, alcoves and wooden benches, along with the warm charm that has welcomed the Bedford-Stuyvesant community for more than one hundred years. With Bedford-Stuyvesant being rich with African American history, BPL staff. local residents and community leaders made the preservation of that history a priority with the Dionne Mack-Harvin Center, Macon Library's African American…