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L. HARVEY SMITH ACTING MAYOR CITY HALL JERSEY CITY, NJ 07302 TEL:(201) 547-5200 FAX:(201) 547-4288

June 23, 2004, Jersey City, NJ-Jersey City Acting Mayor and Municipal Council President L. Harvey Smith announced today that he is working with Library Director Priscilla Gardner on plans for the dedication and grand opening ceremony of the Glenn D. Cunningham Branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library & Community Center. Mr. Smith said that while no definite date has been set, it now looks as though the ceremonies will be scheduled for some time in mid- August. "This library is an especially fitting tribute to Glenn Cunningham as it reflects his love of learning, history and community," Mr. Smith said.

The new branch - which is still under construction - is situated in the heart of Ward F on Martin Luther King Drive between Bostwick and Myrtle Avenues. It is the first new library branch to be built in Jersey City since 1962 and will replace the Claremont Branch down the street.

Acting Mayor Smith said the development of the one-story, 5,624-square-foot structure on its 20,804-square-foot property was financed through almost $2.25 million in Community Development Block Grant and a half-million-dollar donation from the City Council's Reinvestment Account. "We on the Council were especially dedicated to getting this project started and seeing it completed because the people of the community were at the heart of the plans," Mr. Smith stated. The new branch offers a blend of 21st Century technologies and traditional library services the Acting Mayor said. In addition to its eight computer stations, the interior of the building will include cases for 7,900 books and reading spaces for children, young adults and adults. There will be a shaded reading area, space for storytelling and public events outdoors, as well as a children's paving stone maze and on-site parking. The Jersey City Free Public Library will make the 1,350-square-foot Community Center available to local non-profit organizations and will offer special programming and outreach endeavors geared towards schools, daycare and senior citizens centers and other community organizations.

Acting Mayor Smith said that personnel from the Claremont Branch will staff the new branch. "That kind of continuity is important to the community - seeing familiar faces in a new environment always makes people feel more at home," Mr. Smith stated. He said that while he regrets that the community will not have a library for six weeks, he is sure people will understand. "Mrs. Gardner and her staff are to be commended. They have everything planned so that in a relatively small timeframe everything will be moved from the old site to the new and all the new equipment and furnishings will be set up and ready for the community to use and enjoy," the Acting Mayor stated.

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