While some came to a packed reading room February 20 to implore the library board not to continue the contract with architect Stephen Tilly for a new building, many spoke in support of Jeff Collins, whom trustees voted unanimously to appoint to replace Jill Fisher on the board. Collins, who recently ended his state Senate Campaign to help Michelle Hinchey get elected to represent the 46th District, must run in the October board and budget election to stay on as a library trustee.

The work was long awaited for many…and a first act of a much longer production yet to unfold as New York City grapples with decades of aging infrastructure over the coming years.