New Sunset Park Library and Apartments opens

SUNSET PARK — Brooklyn Public Library and the Fifth Avenue Committee hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the new Sunset Park Library and Apartments. 

The project, the first of its kind in New York City, establishes a new development model under which the creation of 100 percent affordable housing is paired with new and expanded public library facilities. The project is part of a partnership between FAC and BPL, along with the state and the city of New York.

The new library branch, at 5108 4th Ave., replaces an earlier Sunset Park Library at the same site. The new building contains a 20,000-square-foot library at street level and 49 apartments on the upper level. 

It is reportedly the first new affordable housing for families in the working-class neighborhood in 20 years.

Half of the apartments are studios and one-bedroom units, while the other half are two- and three-bedroom apartments. The apartments are earmarked for a range of different income levels, including nine for the formerly homeless.

According to BPL, the new library will feature the largest dedicated space for teens of any library in the borough, as well as a program room available for scheduled community functions. A second-floor roof deck will provide outdoor space for both library programming and tenants’ recreational activities. residents’ recreational needs and for library programming.

The project includes a rooftop solar array, and like many new residential buildings, includes bicycle storage, high speed internet and Wi-Fi in common areas.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the building, which took place after years of negotiations, stalls and starts, took place in February 2019. The eight-story structure was slated to open in December 2020, but…