For a Mother and Son, Life Above a Brooklyn Library

THE NEW YORK TIMES—When Miguelina Minier heard that her local library was being renovated with affordable housing added on top, she applied. It was about the 40th time she had tried a housing lottery.

Ian Avilez can’t get enough of books. So much so that the first-grader is reading at a third-grade level. “I used to read to him when he was a baby,” said his mother, Miguelina Minier. His kindergarten teacher asked about Ian’s expansive vocabulary. “Why does Ian know words that I didn’t even teach him?’ I’m like, ‘We live on top of the library,’” Ms. Minier said.

It’s true. Ms. Minier and her son live in the Sunset Park Library and Apartments in Brooklyn, which opened in 2023 with the residential part built above the library. The first library on this spot opened in 1905, and it lasted until 1970, when it was torn down. A new one opened in 1972, although, in time, it needed a lot of love.

Read the full article here.