On September 10 the College held a lovely groundbreaking celebration for the Library Cafe extension, with donor Morton Topfer, his wife, and members of the City Council present.
The expansion officially began on September 13, the following Monday. Construction is slated to last a year, with the expanded Cafe opening for business at the start of the fall semester 2005. The contractor comes highly recommended for his work at Borough of Manhattan Community College and Hunter College.
Throughout the year, Cafe service continued uninterrupted, except for a few days around Easter when we closed so that the connection with the extension could be effected and a construction barrier erected. Throughout the academic year, construction meetings occurred on alternate Wednesday mornings in the Library's multipurpose room.
The Cafe will close to the public on July 18, reopening when renovation is complete. This is to assist the contractor in making up some lost time.
The same architectural firm that designed the original Library Cafe, Thanhauser Esterson Kapell (TEK) was awarded the contract for the extension. For photos of the original facility, plus exciting 360 degree animations that show what the extension will look like, please direct your browser to http://www.tek-arch.com/ and choose Educational Projects.
The new wing will include both fixed machines and a laptop bar. The exterior is highly contemporary, incorporating glass walls.
