Grand Street Settlement is Giving Away 16K Books Today and Saturday
Summer reading lists at the ready!
The Grand Street Settlement, in partnership with the National Book Foundation, the New York City Housing Authority, and the New York Public Library, will be giving away 16,000 brand new books to Lower East Side youth this week. They’ll be distributing titles for ages 0-18 as part of the Book Rich Environments (BRE) initiative, a collaboration between the National Book Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Urban Libraries Council, and the National Center for Families Learning.
“We believe that everyone should experience the joy of reading, including our neighbors who might not readily have access to new books,” said Robert Cordero, Executive Director of Grand St. Settlement in a statement. The giveaway is part of a larger city initiative, in which 75,000 books have made it into the hands of NYCHA youths.
The two scheduled neighborhood events will include copies in both English and Spanish, and will offer books by beloved children’s and YA authors such as Margaret Wise Brown, Evelyn Coleman, Donald Crews, and Tomie dePaola, to name a few (now is a good a time as any to get your hands on a copy of Strega Nona).
National Book Awards authors are also available, including Bronzeville Boys and Girls by Gwendolyn Brooks, Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, Mango, Abuela y yo by Meg Medina, The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson, and Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman.
It’s happening today at Rutgers Community Center (200 Madison St., New York. NY 10007) from 3:00-5:30pm, and Saturday, June 16 (80 Pitt St., New York, NY 10002) from 12:30pm-4:00pm.
“We firmly believe that the wonder and excitement of books are for everyone,” said Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Access to those books—new, quality books that readers are able to take home and keep—is a strong foundation on which to build a rich, enthusiastic, life-long relationship with reading.”
Truth. Get there.
Recent Stories
Remember When You Could Actually Get a Pickle on Pickle Day?
Seems like a no-brainer question – remember when you could actually buy a pickle at the annual Lower East Side Pickle Festival? Back when the party spanned the single block of Orchard Street between Broome and Grand, in front of Guss’ Pickles. Ever since the business improvement district turned the yearly event into a trendy […]
Two Bridges ‘Final Stand’ Against Wall of Glass on the Waterfront
While Pickle Day seduced the mainstream on Orchard Street yesterday afternoon (i.e. tourists), the mood was much less happy-go-lucky down in Two Bridges. Full sour, indeed. Dozens gathered in a show of solidarity for a so-called “final stand” against the addition of four more supertall towers along the Lower East Side waterfront. Timing of the […]
Mile End Deli Pulls the Plug on Bond Street
Mile End Deli on Bond Street is no more. The Brooklyn-based establishment ended service yesterday, concluding more than six years on the Lower East Side. The Jewish-Canadian deli is now down to one location – the Brooklyn original on Hoyt Street. A printout in the window explains how “it was a hard decision to close” […]
Man Slashed Across the Face in Sara D. Roosevelt Park in ‘Random’ Attack
The crime emanating from Sara D. Roosevelt Park these days appears to be worsening. Saturday afternoon at around 1:15pm, a 34-year-old man was slashed across the face near the Parks Department storehouse on Stanton Street. The victim allegedly did not know his attacker, who fled southbound on Chrystie thereafter. The authorities are reportedly calling it […]
Revisiting the Rise of Brooks Brothers on the Lower East Side
Brooks Brothers shuttered its Financial District store yesterday (October 11), a location the company held for the last 45 years. The landlord, Brookfield Properties, hopes to “overhaul the property.” “The store is closing due to the landlord’s plans for extensive renovations and changes to the building,” Brooks Brothers VP global public relations told Patch. “We […]
