After furor, Shirley library to stay open

The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library will stay open, library officials said, while the library board tries to balance necessary repairs to the decrepit facility against the demands of a community seeking to avoid library staff layoffs and the temporary loss of a community fixture.

In a letter posted Friday on the library's website, the trustees acknowledged hearing plenty of opposition to the original plan to shutter the facility in Shirley on Oct. 1 for 16 months during renovations, while renting a smaller satellite library and moving programs off-site.

The community responded to the plan with "a great deal of anger, support, rancor and frustration," the trustees wrote.

Board president Joseph Maiorana said Wednesday that while the closure is still a possibility, he wanted to discuss other options with community leaders. "The only option that's clearly off the table is doing nothing," he said.

The library board's next step is to invite dozens of community leaders and local organizations to form an advisory group on the library's future.

"We're going to invite them to meet with us three or four times, discuss our possible options and then get their ideas and then make a decision shortly after that," he said.

The library building needs repairs to its electrical and HVAC systems, and to its ceiling and roof. Officials have said they will use $5 million of the library's $9-million operating budget to pay for the repairs, avoiding a tax hike on residents. It's been estimated that keeping the library open during the renovations would cost twice as much.

Brookhaven Councilman Dan Panico, who represents the library's area, hailed the postponed closure as "a very positive step."

Panico said he hopes to pursue his idea of building a new library at a former golf course, The Links at Shirley, and solve long-standing issues of parking and cramped conditions.

"It may be a worthwhile investment that should be explored," he said. "At the end of the day, if you put $5 million into this [original] building, you're going to be married to that building for quite some time."

Library director Kerri Rosalia said she hoped a resolution would be found quickly. "As always, I would like to see the library repaired," she said.

Mastic resident Orlando Jimenez said he planned to attend Monday's board meeting at 7 p.m. in the library to learn more.

"It's a good start. It's important that they're opening it up to the community," he said.