Preserving a culture by preserving a building
Sometimes cosmetic changes to a building – fixing a broken window, for example – are as important as fixing something of structural importance.
Many libraries in the New York Public Library (NYPL) system need regular maintenance and upkeep for many reasons. These houses of knowledge are, for many communities, refuge from the harsh realities of their surroundings.But repairing public libraries is expensive and local municipalities have to balance where every dollar goes. NYC’s libraries need $1 billion in capital repairs, the vast majority of which are critical infrastructure repairs, and city capital funding isn’t meeting those needs.
Take the Schomburg Center, for example.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research arm of the NYPL system, focusing on the African American, African diaspora and African experiences around the world. Located in Harlem, it serves as a cultural nerve center not only for the immediate community, but also for those from all around the world seeking to enrich their knowledge of black history.
“The Schomburg Center itself is the most significant institution in that history,” said Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the center’s director. “No other organization in this community has been as singularly focused on continuing to making history relevant for future generations.”But what happens when decay threatens preservation? The building was literally falling apart; water damage from decades of neglect threatened invaluable pieces of art. But that’s only half the equation. While the building is desperate for repairs, the broader community – professors, researchers, students and families – that relies on the Center as a place of learning, a place of work, a place of importance, also suffers.
“It is important that the Schomburg Center continues to collect and preserve and provide access to this documentation that was neglected by so many other institutions,” said Maira Liriano, associate chief librarian of the Gene Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division of the Schomburg Center. “And so we’re kind of the premier place to come to access a lot of material that would not be available anywhere else.”
From this collection, Liriano said, African Americans from all over the nation can learn about a cultural history as told by those who lived through it. This is vital to a community, and a major reason why Citi and Carver partnered to preserve the Center.“It’s not just a library,” said Blondel Pinnock, SVP and Chief Lending Officer at Carver Federal Savings Bank, a local bank that assisted Citi in Citi’s support of the Schomburg Center. “It is the holder of black culture. It has the recordings. It has the documents. It has the papers of many of our black leaders. And it is important that it’s preserved. And the renovations that will occur will help to preserve that history.”“And I think Carver, also being a historic institution here in Harlem, having a legacy, we understand how important it is to maintain the legacy of these institutions.”
This financing from Citi and Carver will go towards a nearly $18 million renovation of the Schomburg Center that involves a roof replacement, an overhaul of the center’s ventilation system, a technology upgrade, an expansion of the center’s research areas and an upgrade of the building’s entrance. An upgraded building means the preservation of a community.
This renovation will result in increased visitation (estimated as a 30 percent increase), creation of local jobs (at least 20), and the Center will continue to be seen as an institution of pride for Harlem.
Archives, for example, will be preserved and the new children’s gallery will be a huge resource for educating youth about the collection and inspiring a lifetime of learning.For all parties involved, this relationship is about the community. It’s about preserving the past to inform the future, and making sure those generations to come have access to African, African American, and American history.
“The Schomburg is a national treasure. And my hope with the small part that Citi played in this much larger revitalization is that it regains its place of regal-ness; that it regains its place of significance for not just Harlemites but for the entire country and the world,” said Gina Nisbeth, director in the structured lending and investments group of Citi Community Capital, who grew up at the Schomburg Center. “That for generations to come, people will be able to come to this institution and understand what I understood, what generations before me understood: the rich cultural legacy.”
