What is the relation between a city and its citizen or any individual living in the same city? The very person is the proud inheritor of the city’s marvels and therefore it is also his/her obligation to adopt adequate measures to retain those. Even if he/she is devoid of any such power, the person must invest time and energy to raise a movement. Do you know that throughout the world a criminal offense to replace magnificent and historical buildings with new and ugly ones is going on? Who are the real perpetrators? You will be amazed to find that they are the common people who prefer to remain silent every time. Their culpabilities are greater than the apathetic city council and crony capitalist interest.
However, there remain some exceptional people who refuse to succumb to these unruly pressures and do their best to preserve the old relics or edifices of the city. You can find these people in the movement to save the elegant and historic Carnegie Library on Broadway which only covers 6,000-square feet and was considered doomed once. What is the impending program? Well, the building sits on the southeast corner of Kingston High School’s campus and it is the noble concept of Kingston City School District to put up a referendum to the public on February 3. What is the objective? They are trying to have the building rehabilitated in a project amounting to $3.6 million.
Why is there the need of rehabilitation instead of demolition? This question can be asked by any who hasn’t seen the Carnegie Library. It is a work of art and can be regarded as one of the finest epitomes of library building in the global spectrum. The building was constructed with a $30,000 donation from Andrew Carnegie and became Kingston’s library in 1903. The library then moved to a school building elsewhere in midtown in 1974 when more space was needed. The leaders of the movement are confident that their struggles will bear fruit.
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