This past Friday, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Ozone Park) helped re-inaugurate the Ozone Park Branch of the Queens Public Library, along with other local elected officials, library staff and local elementary school students. The Library had been closed for over a year for a top-to bottom renovation, including all-new décor, a Cyber Center, specialized Children’s, Teens’ and Adults’ Centers, and self-service book sign-in / sign-out kiosks. The renovations, $1.2 million in total, had been paid for cooperatively by Pheffer Amato (cooperatively with predecessor Phil Goldfeder), State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., and City Councilman Eric Ulrich. After the opening, Pheffer Amato read to a group of children at a special inaugural Story Time.

"This is a great day, a long time coming,” said Pheffer Amato. "Libraries are one of those quintessential community resources. I spent a lot of time at my local library as a kid. That's where we learn, where we delve into new ideas, and increasingly, where we go online. Kids, adults, people seeking jobs - nobody doesn't use this resource. And it's been over a year since Ozone Park had one available.

“But the wait was worth it,” she continued. “It's a whole new level of library - not bad for $1.2 million. Thanks to the Trustees and supporters, to the patrons, to Eric and Joe and Phil. It was my honor to play a role in this redevelopment, and I know that I, my kids and everyone else can't wait to get inside and check out the new digs."