August 1, 2002

MCGREEVEY VISITS LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION

RAHWAY, NJ – On July 31, Mayor James Kennedy, members of the City Council and Public Library Trustees hosted Governor James E. McGreevey as he wrapped up his 10-day Celebrate New Jersey tour of the state with a visit to the new Rahway Public Library building under construction behind City Hall.

The goal of Celebrate New Jersey is to celebrate New Jersey’s unique culture and heritage, while continuing to advance his Administration's commitment to investing in New Jersey’s future through educational and economic development initiatives.  McGreevey’s visit to the library was to recognize the library’s Summer Reading Club and to reinforce his goal of making sure that every 3rd grader in New Jersey can read at or above reading level.

Following the Governor’s visit, Secretary of State Regena Thomas spoke to local children about her job and read to them as part of the “Read and Grow” program.  The initiative is designed to highlight summer reading programs at public libraries throughout the state and encourage young people to discover the power, potential, and joy of reading.  Secretary Thomas challenged New Jersey’s youth to read across New Jersey or read so many books that if they were placed end to end they would stretch from Cape May to High Point. It is estimated that it would take 876,480 books to accomplish this goal and with more than 100,000 children participating in summer reading programs throughout the state, each child would have to read nine books.

The entire 75,000 square foot building was designed by the Summit-based architectural firm, The Biber Partnership.  The new library is a revolutionary public-private partnership that involves selling the top two floors to a private firm and using the remainder of the building as public library space.  This is the first such agreement in New Jersey and only one of a handful throughout the nation.  The sale is expected to net $3.5 million to help fund the building’s construction.

The 32,000 square foot library will be wired for high-speed Internet access, contain an attractive fireplace, a coffee shop and café and will have terraces that overlook the Rahway River for patrons to read and relax.  The children’s department will be nearly doubled in size – from 2,800 square feet to 5,400 square feet – resulting in expanded and improved programs for younger residents.

The city is receiving approximately $4.4 million from the federal and state governments, with $3 million to come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and $1.4 million from the state Office of Emergency Management.  The United States Economic Development Administration is contributing $1 million, and the city has received $2 million from a State Library grant.

The federal and state funds were a product of Hurricane Floyd, which swept through Rahway in September, 1999 with high winds and over a foot of rain.  Because the old library at the intersection of St. Georges and Central Avenues sat on a flood plain of the Robinson’s Branch of the Rahway River, the library sustained some $1 million in flood damage and was deemed too expensive to rebuild (this being the eighth flood in the library’s 32-year history at the site).  Last year, the old library was demolished and replaced with an expanded park, which will house a new playground and five regulation tennis courts.

Click here to see photos from the Governor's visit