Layouts for Mastic Beach library branch presented

Update on MMS Library plans and talk about eastern branch locations

After purchasing Mastic Beach Village Hall on Neighborhood Road, the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library now has two proposed options for the layout of the branch.

The price for construction, featuring a 3,000-square-foot add-on will be known "shortly," said Richard Wiedersum of H2M Architects & Engineers, who presented the two options at the library's monthly meeting on Monday. As per the library board and director's request, the construction proposals knock down as few existing interior walls as possible, given the desire for open space in the front of the building.

The first option for the building's layout does feature an open space on the front half of the building. The adult and teen sections are situated on the east side, and the children's section is on the west side. A large meeting room is situated toward the back of the building.

The only difference in the second option is swapping the locations of the adult and children's sections. A fenced-in outdoor area is situated east of the building, and having the children's section adjacent to the outdoor amenity would serve a purpose for program use.

Additionally, the library board approved an asbestos survey to be conducted for this location, costing $6,200.

Little Red Schoolhouse

The parcel on Montauk Highway in Moriches has been offered to the community library as a gift. Like the main building on William Floyd Parkway, the presence of asbestos calls for either significant renovation or demolition of the structure.

Gladys Rech of the Mastic Park Civic Association listed off a few suggestions for other available parcels that would be suitable for a library branch during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“[Library board president Joe Maiorana] is saying they would have to knock it down completely and then build a building,” Rech said. “I'm suggesting other locations that have buildings that you don't have to demolish.”

Director Kerri Rosalia said that the library explored each of the suggestions presented by Rech, though each had their individual concerns, such as whether the parcel does not allow for enough space for a library, lacks the space for an adequate amount of parking, or is not zoned for the use.

A parcel coined the Liberty Building on Montauk Highway next to Tend Coffee in Shirley is for sale, but the space does not allow for adequate parking area. Rosalia said that a manor house on three acres that sits off the highway was also explored, though the property does not allow enough space for a large enough building as well as a sufficient amount of parking.

The Watami building on Montauk Highway in Moriches was also suggested by Rech, as well as a property for sale across from the Mastic USPS on Montauk Highway.