Save our library!

The New Rochelle Public Library (NPRL) - the award winning building and the land that it is on is at risk of being sold to developers. As the City of New Rochelle pursues development of the downtown, the NRPL Board of Trustees is considering entering into it's own contract with RXR developers to pay for a valuation of the library building and redevelopment possibilities.

Because of it's prime location, RXR developers are seeking to buy the land on which the Library is situated, demolish our unique building and in it's place put a high rise building on this precious land.

There has been talk that the proposed replacement library would be located elsewhere as part of one or two floors in a different high rise building, with a separate entrance.

If this were to happen, the property and the building, now owned by the residents of New Rochelle, would no longer be owned by the public.

This is unacceptable.

If the Library building and the property were to be sold, there would be no going back. We would lose ownership of this Library and the land forever. The replacement would probably mean a library that was a tenant in a building with a landlord that could change hands at any time. And as we all know, contracts can change and agreements can fall through, especially those made with landlords and developers.

The New Rochelle Public Library is the home and the heart of New Rochelle, the central institution in our city where so many thousands of people go each year.

The New Rochelle Public Library is the best of what New Rochelle has to offer, where the incredible mixture of people of all races, ethnicities, socio-economic classes, ages and religions meet.

It is the cultural and educational center where all feel welcome and are welcome, and all have free access to unlimited information, incredible programs and exhibits, books new and old, films, theatre productions, music and art, services and much more.

Today, the NRPL is an independent entity and we believe this autonomy needs to be maintained in order for the library to continue to serve the public.

We need your support to prevent the NRPL Board of Trustees from entering into any contract with RXR.

Let's not let the developers or a bad decision by the Board of Trustees take our Library and land away from us.

Let's protect our community home and heart.