Upper West Side Library To Reopen For Contactless Pickup

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The New York Public Library is reopening its doors on the Upper West Side.

The Riverside Library on 127 Amsterdam Avenue, on 66th Street, will reopen for grab-and-go service on Monday as part of 22 New York Public Library branches reopening for in-person, library officials announced this week.

Services will be limited to grab-and-go pickups and returns.

The grab-and-go service will allow library-goers access to a limited area of the Upper West Side library, and you can reserve your items online or by phone.

You will receive an email when your item is ready to be picked up, and you can head to the library for contactless pickup.

The New York Public Library closed all of its branches on March 14 to help curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak as the city approached the peaks of its outbreak. The initial closure had a planned March 31 reopening, but the closure was quickly made indefinite after the original announcement.

Other Manhattan library branches opening Aug. 3 include the 53rd Street, 67th Street, Harlem, Hudson Park, Seward Park, Tompkins Square, and Washington Heights locations.

Library users will not accumulate fines on overdue materials, even if their library branches reopen for grab-and-go service. Expanded online offerings such as e-book checkout, research databases, and virtual classes will continue to be offered during the library's phased reopening.

Patch reporter Brendan Krisel contributed to this report.