This Keeps Happening to North Brooklyn
This is bigger than one library.
- •Leonard closed for about 2.5 years. It reopened in 2025 — and is already set to close again (2027–2029).
- •Now the Bushwick branch is closing June 5, 2026, reopening in the second half of 2028.
- •For a stretch, both branches may be closed at the same time.
- •The plan during the gap: pop-up book carts and 'go to another branch.'
- •Other neighborhoods got a real pop-up library instead. We keep getting less.
- •We're not against fixing libraries. We're against losing them for years with no real backup.
We're Not Asking for Special Treatment. We're Asking for the Same.
(Note: This section is specifically about Bushwick/ZIP 11206, not Leonard)
- •When other Brooklyn libraries closed, many got a full pop-up: books, computers, WiFi, and staff.
- •Carroll Gardens got one. Red Hook got one. Fort Greene got one.
- •North Brooklyn got a book cart. Now Bushwick may get only a bookmobile.
- •The Bushwick branch (ZIP 11206) serves a working-class, mostly Latino community. About 1 in 3 families here live in poverty.
- •We don't want special treatment. We want the same treatment.
Near the Bushwick Branch?
Live near the Bushwick branch? Tell us — we're tracking whether there's enough support to organize there too. No promises yet. We'll be in touch if something takes shape.