Smithtown Library secures $16.5M for flood repairs

The Smithtown Library is closer to rebuilding its main branch, which was badly damaged in an August 2024 storm, after it won approval to borrow $16.5 million from the Town of Smithtown.

The town board voted unanimously last month to authorize the bond for improvements to the Smithtown Main Library building on North Country Road.

In July, voters in the library district approved the referendum by a vote of 997-413.

The building had closed for nine months after the storm dropped 10 inches of rain across the North Shore, significantly damaging the library's interior. While the building reopened in May, the lower and upper levels of the building are closed for repairs. Only the main level is accessible to the public.

In June, Smithtown Library District voters approved the $16.5 million referendum. Library officials expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse most of the expense, while the district plans to use reserve funds to repair the building, library officials have said.

Town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo said in a statement the vote was a “standard, pro-forma protocol, but it’s important to note that the library district is responsible for repayment of the bond, not the town itself.”

The library needs approval of the project plans from Village of the Branch. 

Smithtown Library director Rob Lusak said the library intends to solicit bids for contractors this month. The library aims to start repairs in November, with construction finished by June 1, Lusak said.

As part of the renovations, the lower level will be rebuilt, while the branch’s Richard H. Handley Collection of Long Island Americana, or the Long Island Room, will be relocated to the main level in the Cornelia Butler Reading Room. The Long Island Room houses many historic books and artifacts from Smithtown's history. Lusak said the library will showcase some of the collection’s most treasured pieces in display cases in the Cornelia Butler Reading Room.

Lusak said the staff and library goers are “ecstatic” at the prospect of having the library fully functional again. Since the flooding, community events and programs have been relocated to other Smithtown Library branches.

“We need to bring our programs back to Smithtown,” Lusak said. “We need that community room rebuilt, and that’s going to be front and center once we start construction.”